Molecular Characterization of Glycopeptide-Resistant Enterococci from Hospitals of the Picardy Region (France)

Abstract

We studied 138 glycopeptide-resistant enterococci (GRE) strains, consisting of 131 glycopeptide-resistantEnterococcus faecium(GREfm) and 7 glycopeptide-resistantEnterococcus faecalis(GREfs). The GREfm strains were resistant to penicillin, ampicillin, vancomycin, and teicoplanin, while the GREfs strains were only resistant to vancomycin and teicoplanin. Thevan Agene was the only glycopeptide determinant present in all GRE isolates investigated. Genes coding for Hyl and Hyl+ Esp were detected in 39 (29.8%) and 92 (70.2%) of the 131 GREfm isolates, respectively. Three of the 7 GREfs were positive forgelE+asa 1genes, 3 forgel Egene, and 1 forasa 1gene. The genetic relationship between the 138 GRE was analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). GREfm isolates were clustered in a single genogroup (pulsotype A), and GREfs were clustered in six genogroups (pulsotypes B-G). Among the isolates investigated by MLST, only 18 PCR products were sequenced (12E. faeciumand 6E. faecalis), and 9 sequence types (STs) were identified.