Work

Clonal structure, resistome and virulence gene profiles of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from retail chicken meat in the United Arab Emirates

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an important public health hazard at the human–food–environment interface. Poultry meat has been increasingly implicated as a potential source of MRSA exposure, yet molecular data from the Middle East remain scarce. This study aimed to characterize MRSA isolated from retail chicken meat in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) using a DNA microarray platform and to compare these profiles with recent UAE clinical MRSA data. A total of 34 non-duplicate MRSA isolates recovered from retail chicken meat were analyzed using a high-resolution DNA microarray targeting clonal complexes, SCC mec elements, antimicrobial resistance genes and virulence determinants. Isolates were assigned to six clonal complexes, with CC5 (18/34, 52.9%) and CC6 (12/34, 35.3%) predominating, while CC1, CC22, CC88 and CC97 each occurred at low frequency. Most isolates carried community-associated SCC mec types IV or V/VT. All (100%) harbored the mecA gene, whereas resistance genes associated with fusidic acid ( fusC ), macrolide–lincosamide resistance ( ermC ), tetracycline resistance ( tetM and/or tetK ), phenicol resistance ( fexA ) and fosfomycin resistance ( fosB ) were detected in 14/34 (41.2%), 15/34 (44.1%), 20/34 (58.8%), 18/34 (52.9%) and 30/34 (88.2%) isolates, respectively, while no vanA or vanB genes were identified. Virulence profiling revealed widespread carriage of immune evasion cluster genes, including sak (32/34, 94.1%) and scn (30/34, 88.2%), together with universal detection of major adhesion and biofilm-associated genes. Panton–Valentine leukocidin genes ( lukF-PV/lukS-PV ) were present in 2/34 (5.9%) isolates and the toxic shock syndrome toxin gene ( tst1 ) in 1/34 (2.9%). A diverse repertoire of staphylococcal enterotoxin genes was observed, with enterotoxin gene cluster components (e.g., seg , selm , selu ) detected in up to 19/34 (55.9%) isolates and the classical enterotoxin gene sea in 12/34 (35.3%) isolates. Overall, these findings indicate that MRSA contaminating retail chicken meat in the UAE is dominated by human-associated, community-type lineages with extensive antimicrobial resistance and virulence gene content, paralleling recent clinical MRSA clonal structures in the country. This study provides the first microarray-based molecular characterization of MRSA from retail chicken meat in the UAE and supports integration of food-chain surveillance into national One Health MRSA monitoring efforts.

Source: Frontiers in Microbiology

DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2026.1817264