A potential virulence gene, hylEfm, predominates in Enterococcus faecium of clinical origin

Abstract

An open reading frame (hylEfm) with homologies to previously described hyaluronidase genes has been identified in nonstool isolates of Enterococcus faecium. E. faecium isolates (n = 577) from diverse sources were screened for the presence of hylEfm and espEfm, a putative virulence gene associated with epidemic E. faecium strains. The presence of espEfm was roughly twice that of hylEfm, but both were found primarily in vancomycin-resistant E. faecium isolates in nonstool cultures obtained from patients hospitalized in the United States. These data suggest that specific E. faecium strains may be enriched in determinants that make them more likely to cause clinical infections. Differences in the prevalence of these strains may help explain variations in the clinical importance of multi-resistant E. faecium across different continents.