TABLE 3.
Performance of cluster A/C and cluster B strains in skin and blood conditions.
| Conditions tested | Cluster A/C | Cluster B | p-value |
| Skin | |||
| Growth at pH 5.5 | |||
| Growth rate (h–1) | 0.626 | 0.594 | 0.273 |
| Lag phase (min) | 234 | 212 | – |
| Final OD (nm) | 1.369 | 1.231 | – |
| Growth at 2M NaCl | |||
| Growth rate (h–1) | 0.339 | 0.298 | 0.011 |
| Lag phase (min) | 361 | 404 | – |
| Final OD (nm) | 1.231 | 1.08 | – |
| Biofilm at pH 5.5 (OD595 nm) | 1.538 | 1.536 | 0.994 |
| Blood | |||
| Growth at pH 7.4 | |||
| Growth rate (h–1) | 0.788 | 0.728 | 0.122 |
| Lag phase (min) | 191 | 212 | – |
| Final OD (nm) | 1.456 | 1.389 | – |
| Biofilm at pH 7 (OD595 nm) | 1.475 | 0.377 | 0.0003 |
| Adhesion to collagen (OD595 nm) | 0.185 | 0.175 | 0.671 |
| Skin and Blood | |||
| Growth at pH 4.5 | |||
| Growth rate (h–1) | 0.335 | 0.274 | 0.043 |
| Lag phase (min) | 234 | 276 | – |
| Final OD (nm) | 0.591 | 0.528 | – |
| Growth at 0.15 M NaCl | |||
| Growth rate (h–1) | 0.701 | 0.670 | 0.411 |
| Lag phase (min) | 212 | 212 | – |
| Final OD (nm) | 1.476 | 1.470 | – |
| Antioxidant capacity (nmol/μL) | 10.20 | 10.79 | 0.428 |
| Cell wall charge (OD410 nm) | 20.10 | 27.09 | 0.084 |
| Proteolysis | |||
| High (no isolates) | 29 | 4 | |
| Medium (no isolates) | 21 | 14 | 0.032 |
| Low (no isolates) | 10 | 5 | |
| Penicillin resistance | |||
| no. resistant isolates (%) | 52 (87%) | 12 (48%) | |
| no. susceptible isolates (%) | 8 (13%) | 11 (9%) | 0.002 |
| Oxacillin resistance | |||
| no. resistant isolates (%) | 37 (62%) | 10 (43%) | |
| nr. susceptible isolates (%) | 23 (38%) | 13 (57%) | 0.147 |
| Gentamicin resistance | |||
| no. resistant isolates (%) | 21 (35%) | 2 (9%) | |
| no. susceptible isolates (%) | 39 (65%) | 21 (91%) | 0.026 |