Staphylococcus aureus
Microbiology

Staphylococcus aureus (/ ˌ s t æ f ɪ l ə ˈ k ɒ k ə s ˈ ɔːr i ə s, - l oʊ -/, Greek σταφυλόκοκκος, "grape-cluster berry", Latin aureus, "golden") is a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive coccal (round) bacterium also known as "golden staph" and "oro staphira". S. aureus is nonmotile and does not form spores. In medical literature, the bacterium is often referred to as S. aureus, Staph aureus or Staph a.. S. aureus appears as staphylococci (grape-like clusters) when viewed through a microscope, and has large, round, golden-yellow colonies, often with hemolysis, when grown on blood agar plates. S. aureus reproduces asexually by binary fission. Complete separation of the daughter cells is mediated by S. aureus autolysin, and in its absence or targeted inhibition, the daughter cells remain attached to one another and appear as clusters.

Staphylococcus aureus is catalase-positive (meaning it can produce the enzyme catalase). Catalase converts hydrogen peroxide (H O) to water and oxygen. Catalase-activity tests are sometimes used to distinguish staphylococci from enterococci and streptococci. Previously, S. aureus was differentiated from other staphylococci by the coagulase test. However, not all S. aureus strains are coagulase-positive and incorrect species identification can impact effective treatment and control measures.

Natural genetic transformation is a reproductive process involving DNA transfer from one bacterium to another through the intervening medium, and the integration of the donor sequence into the recipient genome by homologous recombination. S. aureus was found to be capable of natural genetic transformation, but only at low frequency under the experimental conditions employed. Further studies suggested that the development of competence for natural genetic transformation may be substantially higher under appropriate conditions, yet to be discovered.
length_constraints:number_paragraphs[5], language:response_language[Dutch], startend:end_checker