Pyrosequencing-based comparative genome analysis of the nosocomial pathogen Enterococcus faecium and identification of a large transferable pathogenicity island.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The Gram-positive bacterium Enterococcus faecium is an important cause of nosocomial infections in immunocompromized patients.

Results

We present a pyrosequencing-based comparative genome analysis of seven E. faecium strains that were isolated from various sources. In the genomes of clinical isolates several antibiotic resistance genes were identified, including the vanA transposon that confers resistance to vancomycin in two strains. A functional comparison between E. faecium and the related opportunistic pathogen E. faecalis based on differences in the presence of protein families, revealed divergence in plant carbohydrate metabolic pathways and oxidative stress defense mechanisms. The E. faecium pan-genome was estimated to be essentially unlimited in size, indi

SUBMITTER: van Schaik W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2858755 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature