title: Characterization of Multi-Drug Resistant Enterococcus faecalis Isolated from Cephalic Recording Chambers in Research Macaques (Macaca spp.).
abstract: Nonhuman primates are commonly used for cognitive neuroscience research and often surgically implanted with cephalic recording chambers for electrophysiological recording. Aerobic bacterial cultures from 25 macaques identified 72 bacterial isolates, including 15 Enterococcus faecalis isolates. The E. faecalis isolates displayed multi-drug resistant phenotypes, with resistance to ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, bacitracin, and erythromycin, as well as high-level aminoglycoside resistance. Multi-locus sequence typing showed that most belonged to two E. faecalis sequence types (ST): ST 4 and ST 55. The genomes of three representative isolates were sequenced to identify genes encoding antimicrobial resistances and other traits. Antimicrobial resistance genes identified included aac(6')-aph(2"), aph(3')-III, str, ant(6)-Ia, tetM, tetS, tetL, ermB, bcrABR, cat, and dfrG, and polymorphisms in parC (S80I) and gyrA (S83I) were observed. These isolates also harbored virulence factors including the cytolysin toxin genes in ST 4 isolates, as well as multiple biofilm-associated genes (esp, agg, ace, SrtA, gelE, ebpABC), hyaluronidases (hylA, hylB), and other survival genes (ElrA, tpx). Crystal violet biofilm assays confirmed that ST 4 isolates produced more biofilm than ST 55 isolates. The abundance of antimicrobial resistance and virulence factor genes in the ST 4 isolates likely relates to the loss of CRISPR-cas. This macaque colony represents a unique model for studying E. faecalis infection associated with indwelling devices, and provides an opportunity to understand the basis of persistence of this pathogen in a healthcare setting.
authors.affiliation: Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Stephanie E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Woods
authors.affiliation: Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.|Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Mia T
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2993-5198
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Lieberman
authors.affiliation: Departments of Ophthalmology, and Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Francois
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lebreton
authors.affiliation: Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Elise
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Trowel
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.|Synthetic Biology Group, MIT Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge Massachusetts, United States of America.|Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.|Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.|Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.|Harvard Biophysics Program, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.|The Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: César
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: de la Fuente-Núñez
authors.affiliation: Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dzink-Fox
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Gilmore
authors.affiliation: Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.|Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: James G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Fox
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D013293:Enterococcus faecalis / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D060005:Genotyping Techniques; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics; D008251:Macaca; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D037521:Virulence Factors