Department of Biology and Wildlife Diseases, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic.
Environ Microbiol. 2013 Feb;15(2):548-56. doi: 10.1111/1462-2920.12002. Epub 2012 Nov 1.
This study's aims were to assess the prevalence of, and to characterize, vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) from rooks (Corvus frugilegus) wintering in Europe during 2010/2011. Faeces samples were cultivated selectively for VRE and characterized. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) were used to examine epidemiologic relationships of vanA-containing VRE. The vanA-carrying VRE were tested in vitro for mobility of vancomycin resistance traits. VRE were found in 62 (6%) of 1073 rook samples. Enterococcal species diversity comprised Enterococcus gallinarum (48 isolates), followed by E. faecium (9) and E. faecalis (5). Eight VRE harboured the vanA and ermB genes. Seven vanA-carrying VRE originated from the Czech Republic and one from Germany. All vanA-carrying VRE were identified as E. faecium. Based on MLST analysis, six vanA-positive isolates were grouped as ST92 type, one isolate belonged to ST121, and the remaining one was described as a novel type ST671. Seven out of eight isolates were able to transfer the vancomycin resistance trait via filter mating with a transfer rate of 8.95 ± 3.25 × 10(-7) transconjugants per donor. In conclusion, wintering rooks in some European countries may disseminate clinically important enterococci and pose a risk for environmental contamination.
本研究旨在评估 2010/2011 年冬季在欧洲越冬的红嘴鸥（Corvus frugilegus）中万古霉素耐药肠球菌（VRE）的流行情况，并对其特征进行描述。采集粪便样本进行 VRE 选择性培养，并对其特征进行鉴定。采用脉冲场凝胶电泳和多位点序列分型（MLST）分析方法，研究含 vanA 型 VRE 的流行病学关系。对携带 vanA 型基因的 VRE 进行体外检测，以研究其对万古霉素耐药性的移动性。在 1073 份红嘴鸥样本中，发现 62 份（6%）携带 VRE。肠球菌的物种多样性包括鸡肠球菌（48 株）、屎肠球菌（9 株）和粪肠球菌（5 株）。8 株 VRE 携带 vanA 和 ermB 基因。7 株携带 vanA 型 VRE 来自捷克共和国，1 株来自德国。所有携带 vanA 型基因的 VRE 均鉴定为屎肠球菌。基于 MLST 分析，6 株 vanA 阳性分离株被归为 ST92 型，1 株属于 ST121 型，其余 1 株为新型 ST671 型。8 株携带 vanA 型基因的分离株中，有 7 株能够通过滤膜交配将万古霉素耐药性转移给供体，转移率为 8.95±3.25×10(-7)个转导子/供体。综上所述，一些欧洲国家越冬的红嘴鸥可能会传播具有临床重要性的肠球菌，并对环境造成污染。
