title: Bacteriocin susceptibility of Gardnerella vaginalis and its relationship to biotype, genotype, and metronidazole susceptibility.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Our purpose was to investigate the bacteriocin susceptibility of Gardnerella vaginalis and its relationship to biotype, genotype, and resistance to metronidazole.
  
  
  METHODS
  Bacteriocin susceptibility of 36 G vaginalis clinical isolates was tested against a vaginal strain of Lactobacillus acidophilus by a growth-inhibition method. The relationship to biotype, genotype, and resistance to metronidazole were analyzed by the chi2 test and Fisher exact test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eight G vaginalis strains (22%) were bacteriocin-resistant. Biotypes 5 and 7 were found to be the most frequent among these resistant strains. Eight (42%) of the 19 isolates classified as biotype 5, 6, or 7 were bacteriocin-resistant compared with none of the isolates that were classified as other biotypes (P <.01). Biotype 5 was found in higher prevalence among the isolates resistant to bacteriocin (62%) than among the susceptible isolates (14%) (P =.01). Genotype B was found more frequently among the bacteriocin-resistant strains, but this finding was not statistically significant (P =.71). Seven (88%) bacteriocin-resistant strains were also resistant to metronidazole.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An association between biotype and an increased resistance to bacteriocin was found. The ability of G vaginalis to resist the antibacterial activity of Lactobacillus bacteriocin may be a pivotal factor in understanding bacterial vaginosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Rush Medical College, Chicago, Ill, USA.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Simoes
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aroutcheva
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Heimler
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shott
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Faro
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001430:Bacteriocins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006194:Gardnerella vaginalis / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects*; D005838:Genotype; D008795:Metronidazole / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010865:Pilot Projects
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001430:Bacteriocins; D008795:Metronidazole