PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Harris, Simon R.
AU  - Feil, Edward J.
AU  - Holden, Matthew T. G.
AU  - Quail, Michael A.
AU  - Nickerson, Emma K.
AU  - Chantratita, Narisara
AU  - Gardete, Susana
AU  - Tavares, Ana
AU  - Day, Nick
AU  - Lindsay, Jodi A.
AU  - Edgeworth, Jonathan D.
AU  - de Lencastre, Hermínia
AU  - Parkhill, Julian
AU  - Peacock, Sharon J.
AU  - Bentley, Stephen D.
TI  - Evolution of MRSA During Hospital Transmission and Intercontinental Spread
AID  - 10.1126/science.1182395
DP  - 2010 Jan 22
TA  - Science
PG  - 469--474
VI  - 327
IP  - 5964
4099  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/327/5964/469.short
4100  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/327/5964/469.full
SO  - Science2010 Jan 22; 327
AB  - Current methods for differentiating isolates of predominant lineages of pathogenic bacteria often do not provide sufficient resolution to define precise relationships. Here, we describe a high-throughput genomics approach that provides a high-resolution view of the epidemiology and microevolution of a dominant strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). This approach reveals the global geographic structure within the lineage, its intercontinental transmission through four decades, and the potential to trace person-to-person transmission within a hospital environment. The ability to interrogate and resolve bacterial populations is applicable to a range of infectious diseases, as well as microbial ecology.