Ana R Freitas1, Ana P Tedim2,3,4, Carla Novais1, Teresa M Coque2,3,4, Luísa Peixe1. 1. UCIBIO/REQUIMTE, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Laboratório de Microbiologia, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal. 2. Servicio de Microbiología, Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria (IRYCIS), Madrid, Spain. 3. Unidad de Resistencia a Antibióticos y Virulencia Bacteriana (RYC-CSIC), Madrid, Spain. 4. CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBER-ESP), Madrid, Spain.
Abstract
Objectives: The criteria for identification of Enterococcus faecium (Efm) with the ability to cause human infections are currently being debated by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Strains that have an MIC of ampicillin of ≤ 2 mg/L and lack IS16/esp/hyl genes should be regarded as safe for use as feed additives in animal nutrition, despite the lack of knowledge about putative virulence marker (PVM) distribution in community Efm. We analysed the distribution of major PVM and ampicillin phenotypes in large Efm collections to investigate further the safety of strains from a public health perspective. Methods: Thirty-three PVM were assessed by PCR/sequencing among clonally disparate Efm (n = 328; 1986-2015) from different origins. We analysed ampicillin susceptibility (Etest/broth microdilution) according to EUCAST guidelines, clonal relationship (MLST) and genomic location of PVM (S1-PFGE/hybridization). Results: Infection-derived Efm were more enriched in PVM and the increase in ampicillin MIC was positively correlated with an enrichment in different PVM. PVM coding for surface (esp/sgrA/ecbA/complete acm) and pili proteins, or others enhancing colonization (hyl/ptsD/orf1481) or plasticity (IS16), were strongly associated with clinical Efm (mostly clade A1), but also observed in clades A2/B at different rates. ptsD was a good marker of ampicillin-resistant Efm. ptsD, IS16, orf1481, sgrA and hospital variants of complete pili gene clusters are proposed as markers to assess the safety of Efm strains. Conclusions: Our study expands on the distribution of PVM in diverse Efm lineages and demonstrates the enrichment in infection-derived strains of PVM not previously included in EFSA's list of Efm safety criteria. The evidence of relevant Efm infection markers can impact the risk assessment of Efm strains in different public health contexts.
Objectives: The criteria for identification of Enterococcus faecium (Efm) with the ability to cause human infections are currently being debated by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Strains that have an MIC of ampicillin of ≤ 2 mg/L and lack IS16/esp/hyl genes should be regarded as safe for use as feed additives in animal nutrition, despite the lack of knowledge about putative virulence marker (PVM) distribution in community Efm. We analysed the distribution of major PVM and ampicillin phenotypes in large Efm collections to investigate further the safety of strains from a public health perspective. Methods: Thirty-three PVM were assessed by PCR/sequencing among clonally disparate Efm (n = 328; 1986-2015) from different origins. We analysed ampicillin susceptibility (Etest/broth microdilution) according to EUCAST guidelines, clonal relationship (MLST) and genomic location of PVM (S1-PFGE/hybridization). Results: Infection-derived Efm were more enriched in PVM and the increase in ampicillin MIC was positively correlated with an enrichment in different PVM. PVM coding for surface (esp/sgrA/ecbA/complete acm) and pili proteins, or others enhancing colonization (hyl/ptsD/orf1481) or plasticity (IS16), were strongly associated with clinical Efm (mostly clade A1), but also observed in clades A2/B at different rates. ptsD was a good marker of ampicillin-resistant Efm. ptsD, IS16, orf1481, sgrA and hospital variants of complete pili gene clusters are proposed as markers to assess the safety of Efm strains. Conclusions: Our study expands on the distribution of PVM in diverse Efm lineages and demonstrates the enrichment in infection-derived strains of PVM not previously included in EFSA's list of Efm safety criteria. The evidence of relevant Efm infection markers can impact the risk assessment of Efm strains in different public health contexts.
Authors: Alexey V Revtovich; Elissa Tjahjono; Kavindra V Singh; Blake M Hanson; Barbara E Murray; Natalia V Kirienko Journal: Front Cell Infect Microbiol Date: 2021-04-29 Impact factor: 5.293
Authors: Kostas Koutsoumanis; Ana Allende; Avelino Alvarez-Ordóñez; Declan Bolton; Sara Bover-Cid; Marianne Chemaly; Robert Davies; Alessandra De Cesare; Friederike Hilbert; Roland Lindqvist; Maarten Nauta; Luisa Peixe; Giuseppe Ru; Marion Simmons; Panagiotis Skandamis; Elisabetta Suffredini; Pier Sandro Cocconcelli; Pablo Salvador Fernández Escámez; Miguel Prieto-Maradona; Amparo Querol; Lolke Sijtsma; Juan Evaristo Suarez; Ingvar Sundh; Just Vlak; Fulvio Barizzone; Michaela Hempen; Lieve Herman Journal: EFSA J Date: 2022-01-27
Authors: András Fodor; Birhan Addisie Abate; Péter Deák; László Fodor; Ervin Gyenge; Michael G Klein; Zsuzsanna Koncz; Josephat Muvevi; László Ötvös; Gyöngyi Székely; Dávid Vozik; László Makrai Journal: Pathogens Date: 2020-06-29
Authors: Ana R Freitas; Ana P Tedim; Ana C Almeida-Santos; Bárbara Duarte; Houyem Elghaieb; Mohamed S Abbassi; Abdennaceur Hassen; Carla Novais; Luísa Peixe Journal: Microorganisms Date: 2022-03-16
Authors: Konstantinos Koutsoumanis; Ana Allende; Avelino Álvarez-Ordóñez; Declan Bolton; Sara Bover-Cid; Marianne Chemaly; Robert Davies; Alessandra De Cesare; Lieve Herman; Friederike Hilbert; Roland Lindqvist; Maarten Nauta; Giuseppe Ru; Marion Simmons; Panagiotis Skandamis; Elisabetta Suffredini; Héctor Argüello; Thomas Berendonk; Lina Maria Cavaco; William Gaze; Heike Schmitt; Ed Topp; Beatriz Guerra; Ernesto Liébana; Pietro Stella; Luisa Peixe Journal: EFSA J Date: 2021-06-17