Molecular Characterization of Ampicillin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium Isolates from Hospitalized Patients in Norway
Open Access
- 1 June 2003
- journal article
- Published by American Society for Microbiology in Journal of Clinical Microbiology
- Vol. 41 (6), 2330-2336
- https://doi.org/10.1128/jcm.41.6.2330-2336.2003
Abstract
The genetic relationship of 81 ampicillin-resistant and 21 ampicillin-susceptible Enterococcus faecium isolates from clinical infections and rectal screening in hospitalized patients in Norway was studied by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). PFGE showed 55 different banding patterns, and 65 of the isolates could be grouped into one large group. With AFLP, 46 patterns were discerned, and 74 isolates clustered in one group. In general, the isolates had a higher degree of similarity than with PFGE. The purK gene, which is one of the targets of the E. faecium multilocus sequence typing scheme, was sequenced. Eleven different purK alleles could be discerned, with the majority of isolates ( n = 80) harboring allele 1. With only two exceptions, all strains carrying purK-1 clustered in the same PFGE and AFLP groups, indicating a good correlation between PFGE type, AFLP type, and purK allele. Genetic polymorphism of a 571-bp PCR fragment of the C-terminal domain of the penicillin-binding protein 5 gene ( pbp5 ) was determined, and sequence differences were associated with the level of ampicillin resistance. This study indicates that the majority of ampicillin-resistant E. faecium strains in Norway belong to a distinct genetic lineage of closely related genotypes. Rectal and clinical isolates were generally indistinguishable, and differences in clonal distribution and allele polymorphism were found mainly between ampicillin-resistant and -susceptible isolates.Keywords
This publication has 30 references indexed in Scilit:
- Different Levels of Genetic Homogeneity in Vancomycin-Resistant and -Susceptible Enterococcus faecium Isolates from Different Human and Animal Sources Analyzed by Amplified-Fragment Length PolymorphismAntimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 2002
- Multilocus Sequence Typing Scheme for Enterococcus faeciumJournal of Clinical Microbiology, 2002
- Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREF) from Norwegian Poultry Cluster with VREF from Poultry from the United Kingdom and The Netherlands in an Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism GenogroupApplied and Environmental Microbiology, 2002
- The prevalence of faecal carriage of ampicillin-resistant and high-level gentamicin-resistant enterococci among inpatients at 10 major Norwegian hospitalsJournal of Hospital Infection, 2002
- Role of Penicillin-Binding Protein 5 in Expression of Ampicillin Resistance and Peptidoglycan Structure in Enterococcus faeciumAntimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 2001
- Comparison of Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis and Amplified Fragment-Length Polymorphism for Epidemiological Investigations of Common Nosocomial PathogensInfection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2001
- Penicillin-Binding Protein 5 and Expression of Ampicillin Resistance in Enterococcus faeciumAntimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 2001
- Nosocomial outbreak of ampicillin resistant Enterococcus faecium: Risk factors for infection and fatal outcomeJournal of Hospital Infection, 2000
- Low Faecal Carrier Rate of Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci in Norwegian Hospital PatientsScandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases, 1998
- AFLP: a new technique for DNA fingerprintingNucleic Acids Research, 1995