Phenotypic and genotypic differences of the vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium isolates from humans and poultry in Korea

Jae Young Oh, Seunghun An, Jong Sook Jin, Yoo Chul Lee, Dong Teak Cho, Je Chul Lee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

A total of 98 vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREF) isolates (58 isolates from patients and 40 isolates from poultry) were compared based on their antimicrobial susceptibility, Tn1546 element organization, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns. This comparison aided in determining the relationships between the groups of isolates. AU the VREF isolates harbored the vanA gene; however, 29 (29.6%) of the isolates exhibited the VanB phenotype- vanA genotype. Furthermore, the VREF isolates from humans and poultry exhibited distinct antimicrobial resistance patterns. The PCR mapping of the Tn1546 elements exhibited 12 different transposon types (A to L). The VREF isolates of poultry were classified into types A to D, whereas the human isolates were classified into types E to L. A PFGE analysis demonstrated a high degree of clonal heterogeneity in both groups of isolates; however, the distinct VREF clones appeared in each group of isolates. The deletion of the vanX-vanY genes or insertion of IS1216V in the intergenic region from the vanX-vanY genes is directly associated with the incongruence of the VanB phenotype-van A genotype in human VREF isolates. These data suggest that the VREF isolates exhibit distinct phenotypic and genotypic traits according to their origins, which suggests that no evidence exists to substantiate the clonal spread or transfer of vancomycin resistance determinants between humans and poultry.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)466-472
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Microbiology
Volume45
Issue number5
StatePublished - Oct 2007

Keywords

  • Clone
  • Enetococcus
  • Insertion sequence
  • Tn1546
  • Vancomycin

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