Hallin Marie, Friedrich Alexander W, Struelens Marc J
Laboratoire de Référence MRSA-Staphylocoques, Department of Microbiology, Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
Methods Mol Biol. 2009;551:189-202. doi: 10.1007/978-1-60327-999-4_15.
The spa typing method is based on sequencing of the polymorphic X region of the protein A gene (spa), present in all strains of Staphylococcus aureus. The X region is constituted of a variable number of 24-bp repeats flanked by well-conserved regions. This single-locus sequence-based typing method combines a number of technical advantages, such as rapidity, reproducibility, and portability. Moreover, due to its repeat structure, the spa locus simultaneously indexes micro- and macrovariations, enabling the use of spa typing in both local and global epidemiological studies. These studies are facilitated by the establishment of standardized spa type nomenclature and Internet shared databases.
葡萄球菌蛋白A基因（spa）的多态性X区域测序是葡萄球菌蛋白A基因分型方法的基础，该区域存在于所有金黄色葡萄球菌菌株中。X区域由可变数量的24碱基对重复序列组成，两侧为保守区域。这种基于单一位点序列的分型方法具有许多技术优势，如快速、可重复和便携。此外，由于其重复结构，spa位点同时对微观和宏观变异进行索引，使得spa分型可用于局部和全球流行病学研究。标准化的spa型命名法和互联网共享数据库促进了这些研究。
