Molecular Assessment and Validation of the Selected Enterococcal Strains as Probiotics

Probiotics are live microorganisms which confer health benefits to the host. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are used as probiotics since decades. Enterococci being the member of LAB have proven probiotic strains; therefore, this study was aimed at finding out the potential probiotic candidates from the pool of locally isolated strains. For initial screening, one hundred and twenty-two strains were selected and subjected to different confirmatory and phenotypic tests to choose the best strains that have potential probiotic criteria, i.e., no potential virulence traits, antibiotic resistance, and having tolerance properties. Keeping this criterion, only eleven strains (n = 11) were selected for further assessment. All virulence traits such as production of hemolysin, gelatinase, biofilm, and DNase were performed and not found in the tested strains. The molecular assessment indicates the presence of few virulence-associated genes in Enterococcus faecalis strains with variable frequency. The phenotypic and genotypic assessments of antibiotic resistance profile indicate that the selected strain was susceptible to ten commonly used antibiotics, and there were no transferrable antibiotic resistance genes. The presence of CRISPR-Cas genes also confirmed the absence of antibiotic resistance genes. Various enterocin-producing genes like EntP, EntB, EntA, and EntQ were also identified in the selected strains which make them promising probiotic lead strains. Different tolerance assays like acid, NaCl, and gastric juice tolerance that mimic host conditions was also evaluated by providing artificial conditions. Cellular adhesion and aggregation properties like auto- and co-aggregation were also checked and their results reflect all in the favor of lead probiotic strains.

Assessment of prevalence, antibiotic resistance, and virulence profiles of biofilm-forming Enterococcus faecalis isolated from raw seafood in Bangladesh

Enterococcus faecalis are often resistant to different classes of antibiotics, harbor virulence determinants, and produce biofilm. The presence of E. faecalis in raw seafood exhibits serious public health significance. This study aimed to identify antibiotic resistance patterns and virulence factors in biofilm-forming E. faecalis strains extracted from seafood in Bangladesh. A total of 150 samples of raw seafood, comprising 50 shrimps, 25 crabs, and 75 fish, were collected and subjected to culturing, biochemical, and PCR assays to detect E. faecalis. The biofilm-forming abilities of the isolates were determined by Congo Red agar (CRA) plate and Crystal Violet Micro-titer Plate (CVMP) tests. Antibiotic resistance profiles were evaluated using the disk diffusion method. Virulence genes of the isolates were detected by PCR assay. The occurrence of E. faecalis was 29.3 % (44/150), which was higher in crabs and fish (36 %) than in shrimps (16 %). In CRA and CVMP tests, biofilm-forming abilities were observed in 88.64 % of the isolates, whereas 11 (25 %) and 28 (63.6 %) were strong- and intermediate-biofilm formers, respectively. All the isolates contained at least two virulence genes, including pil and ace (97.7 %), sprE (95.5 %), gelE (90.9 %), fsrB (79.6 %), agg (70.5 %), fsrA (68.2 %), and fsrC (61.4 %). All the isolates were phenotypically resistant to penicillin, followed by ampicillin and rifampicin (86.4 %), erythromycin (13.7 %), and tetracycline, vancomycin, norfloxacin, and linezolid (2.3 %). Resistant gene bla TEM was found in 61.4 % of the isolates. Moreover, the study found that E. faecalis strains with strong biofilm-forming capabilities had significantly higher levels of virulence genes and antibiotic resistance (p < 0.05) compared to those with intermediate and/or no biofilm-forming abilities. To the best of our knowledge, this research represents the first instance in Bangladesh of assessing antibiotic resistance and identifying virulence genes in biofilm-forming E. faecalis strains isolated from seafood samples. Our study revealed that seafood is a carrier of antibiotic-resistant, virulent, and biofilm-forming E. faecalis, demonstrating a potential public health threat.

Molecular Assessments of Antimicrobial Protein Enterocins and Quorum Sensing Genes and Their Role in Virulence of the Genus Enterococcus

Enterococcus has emerged as an opportunistic pathogen because of its antibiotic resistance and virulence profile, which makes it a causative agent of several diseases like endocarditis, surgical site, and urinary tract infections. Currently, species of this genus are the 2nd most frequently isolated microorganisms from hospital-acquired infections. Significant association with hospitals and unhygienic conditions of the environments has made them resistant to a wide range of antibiotics. On the brighter side, enterococci have the ability to produce antimicrobial proteins (i.e., enterocins) that exhibit wide antagonistic activity, thus making them useful microbes in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Enterocins are also involved in niche control in gut microbiota which is regulated by the quorum sensing (QS) system. A bacterial communication system that is controlled by the fsr operon in enterococci consists of FsrABDC, ef1097, and GelE/SprE genes. Hence, the present study was conducted for molecular assessment of enterocins and quorum sensing genes, inter-environmental correlation, and species prevalence of enterococci isolated from different environmental niches of Karachi, Pakistan. Obtained results revealed the highest prevalence of E. faecium and E. faecalis in all environments. Bacterial antagonism and enterocin genes were observed significantly high in poultry environments. The inter-environmental correlation indicated a strong positive correlation of freshwater with sewage and soil environments. Similarly, the fsr regulatory system was mostly identified in poultry-related environments, and a significant correlation between QS system and biofilm formation was established. In conclusion, this study confirmed the high prevalence of E. faecium in all tested sources, high enterocin production in non-clinical environments, and more fsr regulatory genes in poultry-related environments.

Enterococcus raffinosus, Enterococcus durans and Enterococcus avium Isolated from a Tertiary Care Hospital in Romania-Retrospective Study and Brief Review

(1) Background: This paper aims to provide a description of non-faecalis non-faecium enterococci isolated from a tertiary care hospital in Romania and to briefly review the existing literature regarding the involvement of Enterococcus raffinosus, Enterococcus durans and Enterococcus avium in human infections and their antimicrobial resistance patterns; (2) Methods: We retrospectively analyzed all Enteroccocus species isolated from the “Prof. Dr. O. Fodor” Regional Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology from Cluj-Napoca during one year focusing on non-faecalis non-faecium Enterococci. A brief review of the literature was performed using case reports involving Enterococcus raffinosus, Enterococcus durans and Enterococcus avium; (3) Results: Only 58 out of 658 Enteroccocus isolates were non-faecalis non-faecium and met the inclusion criteria. These species were isolated more often (p < 0.05) from the surgical ward from mixed etiology infections with E. coli. In our review, we included 39 case reports involving E. raffinosus, E. durans and E. avium; (4) Conclusions: Isolation of non-faecalis non-faecium enterococci displays an emerging trend with crucial healthcare consequences. Based on the analysis of the case reports, E. avium seems to be involved more often in neurological infections, E. durans in endocarditis, while E. raffinosus displays a more heterogenous distribution.