1. Highly simplified schema (not true to scale) of the composition of the SCC family integrated into the S. aureus chromosome (blue).
Highly simplified schema (not true to scale) of the composition of the SCC family integrated into the S. aureus chromosome (blue). Some examples of various SCC types, including those organized in composite islands, are given. Basic structures comprise the mec gene complex (red), the ccr gene complex (yellow), and the joining regions (gray). Some SCCs additionally contain (i) resistance operons acting against antibiotic agents (violet), such as fusidic acid (fusC); (ii) resistance operons for metalloids and transition metals with toxic/bactericidal properties (green), such as arsenic (ars), cadmium (cad), copper (copB and copC), and mercury (mer); (iii) virulence genes (brown), such as the capsule polysaccharide gene (cap1); (iv) other genes (orange), such as the genes composing the arginine catabolic mobile element (arc), the copper-translocating P-type ATPase gene (copA), and the potassium-transporting ATPase genes (kdp); (v) further penicillin-binding protein 4 (PBP4) genes (pink), such as pbp4; and (vi) pseudogenes.
Karsten Becker et al. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 2014; doi: /CMR