FIG. 1.

Population snapshot of S. aureus. The genetic relationships of the entire S. aureus database, including the five PVL-positive MRSA STs described in this study, are presented using a single eBURST diagram. The numbers represent STs and are indicated by black solid circles. The area of each circle corresponds to the abundance of the isolates of the ST in the input data. Presumed primary and secondary founders of clonal complexes are indicated in blue and yellow, respectively, while solid lines represent radial links from primary founders to each of its SLVs, which share identical alleles at 6 of the 7 loci, e.g., ST37 is an SLV of the primary founder ST30. The STs representing the PVL-positive MRSA isolates are marked by a red circle. Additional information about the eBURST algorithm can be found at www.mlst.net.