Use of Penicillin-binding Proteins for the Identification of Enterococci

Abstract

Summary: The results of 20 physiological and fermentation tests and examination of the penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) of 85 enterococcal strains demonstrated that the genus Enterococcus could be divided into at least nine distinct species: E. faecalis, E. faecium, E. durans, E. hirae, E. avium, E. gallinarum, E. casseliflavus, E. malodoratus and E. mundtii. Each species had a specific pattern of at least five PBPs, with molecular masses in the range of about 40–130 kDa. The pattern of PBPs may be useful for identification purposes, since some strains with unusual fermentation characteristics were assigned to species by this technique.