title: Antimicrobial resistance and virulence traits in Enterococcus strains isolated from dogs and cats.
abstract: We investigated presence and prevalence of antibiotic-resistances and other biological characters in enterococci isolated from faeces of healthy dogs and cats because these microorganisms represent important human and veterinary pathogens/opportunists, and a significant burden for healthcare systems. In all samples (n=115) we detected enterococci, with a predominance of Enterococcus faecium (42; 36.5%) and Enterococcus faecalis (36; 31.3%) species, endowed with virulence traits and multidrug-resistance. The two predominant resistance patterns (erythromycin, tetracycline) were examined by polymerase chain reaction for tet and erm genes. Only tetM for tetracycline, and ermA and ermB for erythromycin were detected. PCR for gelatinase gene (gelE) was positive in 62.6% of isolates, but only 26.1% produce gelatinase suggesting the existence of silent genes. efaAfs and efaAfm genes were found in E. faecalis and E. faecium respectively. 89.6% of isolates produced bacteriocin-like substances with a prevailing action against Listeria genus and, among these, 33.9% were positive for the bacteriocin structural genes entA, entL50 or entP. According to our study, pet animals can be considered a reservoir of potentially pathogenic enterococci and we cannot exclude that those microorganisms may be responsible for opportunistic infections in high-risk pet owners.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: Ramona
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Iseppi
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Messi
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: Imacolata
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Anacarso
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: Moreno
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bondi
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sabia
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Condò
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: de Niederhausern
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D002415:Cats / Q000382:microbiology*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000382:microbiology*; D004285:Dogs / Q000382:microbiology*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D016983:Enterococcus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D014774:Virulence; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors
keywords: Antibiotic-resistances; Bacteriocin-like substances; Enterococci; Pets; Virulence factors