Assessment of environmental enterococci: bacterial antagonism, pathogenic capacity and antibiotic resistance.
The properties of 166 environmental strains belonging to the seven enterococcal species were studied. Enterococci originated mainly from surface- and waste-waters. They were screened for the presence of enterocins, virulence factors, and antibiotic resistance. The presence of different enterocin genes (entA, entB, entP, ent31, entL50AB) was frequently observed in our enterococcal isolates, 109 strains contained at least one enterocin gene. The distribution of enterocin genes varied according to the species, the genes were present mainly in E. hirae and E. faecium. By enterocin spot assay, 10 isolates inhibited the growth of Listeria strains. To evaluate the pathogenic ability of isolates, the distribution of selected virulence genes (cylA, gelE and esp) was investigated, eleven strains were positive in some of these genes, five of them belonged to E. faecalis. Regarding the antibiotic resistance of isolates, only two strains were multiresistant and two strains (E. hirae and E. casseliflavus) were resistant to vancomycin.
Pangallo
Domenico
D
Institute of Molecular Biology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 21, 84551, Bratislava, Slovak Republic. domenico.pangallo@savba.sk
Drahovská
Hana
H
Harichová
Jana
J
Karelová
Edita
E
Chovanová
Katarína
K
Ferianc
Peter
P
Turna
Ján
J
Timko
Jozef
J
D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000898:Antibiosis; D001430:Bacteriocins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D016983:Enterococcus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology*; D008087:Listeria / Q000502:physiology; D008372:Manure / Q000382:microbiology; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014871:Water Microbiology
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001430:Bacteriocins; D008372:Manure; D037521:Virulence Factors