To investigate the molecular characteristics and biofilm-forming ability of 116 Enterococcus faecium (Efm) and 72 Enterococcus faecalis (Efs) isolates obtained from patients with bloodstream infections (BSI) at a Chinese hospital between July 2011 and March 2018. The presence of glycopeptide resistance genes and five virulence genes (esp, gelE, asa1, hyl, and cylA) was screened using two multiplex PCR. MLST was used to assess the clonality. Crystal violet staining was used to detect biofilms. Vancomycin resistance was detected in 30.1% of Efm and 2.8% of Efs isolates, respectively. All VRE strains carried the vanA gene. The esp, gelE, asa1, and cylA genes in 72 Efs strains were detected at 62.5%, 84.7%, 84.7%, and 69.4%, respectively. Among the 116 Efm isolates, 74.1% and 25.8% carried esp and hyl, respectively. The esp gene was significantly associated with vancomycin-resistant Efm (VREfm) compared to vancomycin-susceptible Efm (VSEfm). In total, 91.7% of Efs and 20.0% of Efm produced biofilms. Twenty-six STs were identified among the 72 Efs isolates, with ST4 (29.2%) being the predominant. In total, 116 Efm strains were grouped into 26 STs, with ST78 (46.6%) being the predominant. Both VREfm (41.7%) and VSEfm (48.8%) were dominant in ST78. There is no clear evidence suggesting that some STs are associated with vancomycin resistance or biofilm formation. Both Efm and Efs BSI isolates showed a polyclonal pattern with a dominant clone and many unique types, implying the coexistence of clonal dissemination and an influx of new clones. The horizontal transmission of resistance genes may play a more important role in VREfm prevalence than clonal expansion.
Keywords: Biofilm; Enterococcus faecalis; Enterococcus faecium; Multilocus sequence typing; Vancomycin-resistant; Virulence.
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