Molecular analysis of human, porcine, and poultry Enterococcus faecium isolates and their erm(B) genes.
Fifty-nine erm(B)-positive Enterococcus faecium strains isolated from pigs, broilers, and humans were typed using multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and the coding sequence of the erm(B) gene was determined. Identical erm(B) gene sequences were detected in genetically unrelated isolates. Furthermore, genetically indistinguishable strains were found to contain different erm(B) alleles. This may suggest that horizontal exchange of the erm(B) gene between animal and human E. faecium strains or the existence of a common reservoir of erm(B) genes might be more important than direct transmission of resistant strains.
De Leener
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E
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, B-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium. ellen.deleener@UGent.be
Martel
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A
De Graef
E M
EM
Top
J
J
Butaye
P
P
Haesebrouck
F
F
Willems
R
R
Decostere
A
A
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D016984:Enterococcus faecium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011200:Poultry / Q000382:microbiology*; D013552:Swine / Q000382:microbiology*