title: Enterococcus faecalis from patients with chronic periodontitis: virulence and antimicrobial resistance traits and determinants.
abstract: This study investigated the presence of virulence and resistance traits, as well as their genetic determinants in subgingival Enterococcus faecalis from patients with chronic periodontitis. Twenty-four E. faecalis strains from a previously multi-locus sequence typing (MLST)-characterized strain collection were examined for virulence-associated phenotypes, antimicrobial susceptibility, and virulence- and antimicrobial-resistant determinants. Gelatinase, hemolysin, and biofilm production were detected in 50, 17, and 100% of the strains, respectively. Genes encoding adherence factors such as ace, efaA, and bopD were detected in all isolates. Other putative virulence determinants, i.e., EF3314, gelE, asa, esp, cylA, ef1841/fsrC, and asa373, were found in a portion of the strains. Different levels of resistance were observed in these strains, with two strains expressing high-level resistance to erythromycin and gentamicin. The integrase gene and accessory gene(s) of the Tn916/Tn1545 family were detected in ten strains. A direct link was shown between the presence of Tn916/Tn1545-like elements and resistance to doxycycline and/or erythromycin. The results demonstrated that virulence and antibiotic resistance determinants were prevalent in oral E. faecalis strains. It implicates that oral E. faecalis might play a role in the pathogenesis of chronic periodontitis and be a potential reservoir for the transferable elements of virulence and antimicrobial resistance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø, 9037, Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sundsfjord
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000235:genetics; D018441:Biofilms; D055113:Chronic Periodontitis / Q000382:microbiology*; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D013293:Enterococcus faecalis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D004917:Erythromycin / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D018093:Gelatinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005839:Gentamicins / Q000494:pharmacology; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D005839:Gentamicins; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; D004917:Erythromycin; D018093:Gelatinases