title: Arrangement of the vanA gene cluster in enterococci of different ecological origin.
abstract: Glycopeptide-resistant enterococci (vanA) isolated from infections in humans, from non-hospitalized humans, from sewage, from animal feces and from meat products in Germany (20 Enterococcus faecium and one Enterococcus hirae) were investigated for the arrangement of the genes in the vanA gene cluster by means of overlapping PCR with five primer pairs. In 20 of these strains, the vanA gene clusters were uniform which suggests a horizontal spread among different ecosystems. In one clinical isolate a rearrangement was detected in the vanY-vanZ region.
authors.affiliation: Robert Koch Institute, Wernigerode, Germany.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Werner
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Klare
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Witte
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D019729:Carbon-Oxygen Ligases / Q000235:genetics*; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial / Q000235:genetics; D017753:Ecosystem; D016983:Enterococcus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016984:Enterococcus faecium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology; D005810:Multigene Family; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology; D014640:Vancomycin / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D012722:Sewage; C071437:VanA ligase, Bacteria; D014640:Vancomycin; D019729:Carbon-Oxygen Ligases