Good Research Paper About Staphylococcus

Taxonomic Classification

Staphylococcus, or commonly known as Staph, is type of bacteria that has almost 30 other types than can cause infection (Cunha, 2014). Since there are only minor differences in the species of Staph, taxonomists still consider them as good species. Staphylococcaceae is the bacterial family of the genus Staphylococcus (Hill, n.d.). Staphylococcus aureus is the most common to cause infection. S. aureus, together with S. intermedius, is coagulase positive while all the other types are coagulase negative (Baron, n.d.).

Morphological and Anatomical Features

Staphylococci are gram-positive, spherical in shape, and have a one-micrometer diameter and under a microscope, it looks like clusters or clumps (Todar, n.d.). It has a smooth and translucent surface. The S. aureus has a yellow color is because of the carotenoid pigment called staphyloxanhin (Acquafredda, n.d.). This color serves as its protection from the attacks of the body’s immune system. S. epidermis or formerly called as S. albus has a white color. S. aureus forms large colony while S. epidermis forms a relatively small one. Staph is facultative anaerobe that can grow by fermentation or aerobic respiration (Todar, n.d.).

Life History

The staph duplicates through asexual reproduction. When another staph is produced, its new cell wall does not entirely separate itself from the wall of the original cell and this is the reason why it is in clusters. The staph’s natural habitat is the nasal passage and armpit (Acquafredda, n.d.). These types of bacteria are commonly found on the skin, hair, nose, and throats of both humans and animals. Sometimes, they are found in the food that causes food poisoning.

Importance

The S. epidermidis has been called the accidental pathogen and was found to maintain a benign relationship to its host (Otto, 2009). According to the results of the study, it also served as a reservoir for the genes that could resist and was beneficial despite the infection. Ever since, this particular bacterium was regarded as important because of the findings. This still poses a threat to the health system for the complicated and specific antibiotics to treat the infection brought upon by this even if it a life-threatening manifestation is a very rare case. Although there is a vaccine called StaphVAX that was developed from S. aureus type 5 and 8 capsular polysaccharides combined with Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A (Todar, n.d). Then, Nabi came up with TriStaphTM, a vaccine with trivalent polysaccharide conjugate. By combining a toxin associated with sever skin and soft tissue infections and a toxin that is produced by all clinical isolates to TriStaphTM, the result was PentaStaphTM (Todar, n.d.).

References

Acquafredda, P. (n.d.). Staphylococcus Aureus – Biological Properties. Retrieved from http://staphylococcusaureus.weebly.com/biological-properties.html
Baron, S. (n.d.). Staphylococcus. Galveston (TX): University of Texas Medical Branch, 1996. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK8448/
Cunha, J. P. (2014, October 26). What is Staphylococcus?. MedicineNet.com, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.medicinenet.com/staph_infection_pictures_slideshow/article.htm
Hill, L. R. (n.d.). Taxonomy of the Staphylococci. Retrieved from repub.eur.nl/pub/8151/HOOFDSTUK4.PDF
Otto, M. (2009). Staphylococcus epidermis – the “accidental” pathogen. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2009 August; 7(8): 555-567. Doi: 10.1038/nrmicro2182
Todar, K. (n.d.). Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcal Disease. Kenneth Todar, PhD. Retrieved from http://textbookofbacteriology.net/staph.html