Background
Staphylococcus belongs to the Gram-positive low G + C content group of the Firmicutes division of bacteria. Staphylococcus aureus is an important human and veterinary pathogen that causes a broad spectrum of diseases, and has developed important multidrug resistant forms such as methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA) [1-3]. Despite emergence of MRSA in human and various animal species, mechanisms of host adaptation are poorly understood [4]. Comparative genomic analyses of phylogenetically closely related bacteria with different phenotypes (e.g. host specificity and pathogenicity) can provide information relevant to understanding adaptation to host environment and mechanisms of pathogenicity [5-10]. Staphylococcus simiae was isolated from South American squirrel monkeys in 2000, and is a coagulase-negative bacterium closely related, and indeed possibly the sister group, to S. aureus [11]. Comparison between S. aureus and S. simiae genomes could provide valuable information regarding host adaptation and pathogenesis. Thus, we determined a draft genome sequence of S. simiae type strain CCM 7213T (= LMG 22723T), and included it in comparative genomic analyses with 11 other Staphylococcus species.