Augmented Production of Panton‐Valentine Leukocidin Toxin in Methicillin‐Resistant and Methicillin‐SusceptibleStaphylococcus aureusIs Associated with Worse Outcome in a Murine Skin Infection Model

The role of Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) in Staphylococcus aureus infections is controversial. We used a mouse model of skin infection to compare the virulence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) strains with different levels of PVL production. Differences in PVL production were not associated with mutations in the genes lukS-PV and lukF-PV. However, MSSA and MRSA strains that produced high...