Comparative Genomic Analysis of Staphylococcus haemolyticus reveals keys to hospital adaptation and pathogenicity

Staphylococcus haemolyticus is a skin commensal gaining increasing attention as an emerging pathogen of nosocomial infections. However, knowledge about the transition from a commensal to an invasive lifestyle remains sparse and there is a paucity of studies comparing pathogenicity traits between commensal and clinical isolates. In this study, we used a pan-genomic approach to identify factors important for infection and hospital adaptation by exploring the genomic variability of 123 clinical isolates and 46 commensal S. haemolyticus isolates.