<i>Staphylococcus epidermidis</i><i>SdrH</i>, <i>SdrG</i>, and <i>SdrF</i> Expression in Commensal and Ocular Infection Isolates

Staphylococcus epidermidis contaminates medical devices and produces biofilm, complicating antibiotic treatment for its elimination and causing a nosocomial health issue. The sdr genes ( sdrG , sdrF , and sdrH ) are involved in bacterial adhesion to the surface of medical devices for biofilm formation.

To compare the presence and expression of the sdr gene in S. epidermidis from infectious and commensal isolates to propose them as a therapeutic target.

This is a descriptive, observational, and retrospective study. Infected ocular (n = 64), healthy conjunctiva (n = 46), and healthy skin (n = 53) isolates were genotyped using the Staphylococcal Chromosome mec (SCC mec ) cassette to avoid clonality. Different genotypes representative of each isolation source selected isolates. In the selected isolates, sdr genes were determined by PCR, and RT-qPCR determined their expression.

The sdrG , sdrF , and sdrH genes were present in the genome of all selected isolates. The expression level of the sdr genes was low in all isolates and there was no significant difference between different isolation sources.

The presence and expression of sdrG , sdrF , and sdrH genes are independent of the genotype and isolation source; this suggests that these proteins could be therapeutic targets to prevent the contamination of medical devices by S. epidermidis .