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Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) is a common pathogen in ocular infection. Mutations contribute to drug resistance. We intended to identify mutations in genes within the quinolone resistance determining region (QRDR) of fluoroquinolone-resistant S. epidermidis ocular isolates and to study their phenotypic and genotypic correlation. A total of 50 phenotypically fluoroquinolones-resistant S. epidermidis isolates were studied. Fluoroquinolones susceptibility was evaluated by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was optimized and applied followed by DNA sequencing to detect mutations in gyrA, gyrB, parC and parE in the QRDR region among the fluoroquinolone-resistant S. epidermidis isolates recovered from ocular specimens. The majority of the samples (74%) were from conjunctival swabs (n = 37). gyrA, gyrB, parC, and parE genes were detected in 47 samples (94%). gyrA gene (n = 47) was the most common, followed by parE (n = 35), gyrB (n = 30) and parC (n = 28). In 25 isolates, all four mutated genes were present. In 25(50%) S. epidermidis isolates mutations were observed in all four genes of QRDR region of S. epidermidis genome. This is the first study in a tertiary eye care hospital in India to characterise ocular S. epidermidis for fluoroquinolone resistance which showed mutations were predominant in gyrA gene in the QRDR region compared to 3 other genes.

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