Multiple roles for Enterococcus faecalis glycosyltransferases in biofilm-associated antibiotic resistance, cell envelope integrity, and conjugative transfer.

ABSTRACT: The emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria and the limited availability of new antibiotics are of increasing clinical concern. A compounding factor is the ability of microorganisms to form biofilms (communities of cells encased in a protective extracellular matrix) that are intrinsically resistant to antibiotics. Enterococcus faecalis is an opportunistic pathogen that readily forms biofilms and also has the propensity to acquire resistance determinants via horizontal gene transfer. There is intense interest in the genetic basis for intrinsic and acquired antibiotic resistance in E. faecalis, since clinical isolates exhibiting resistance to multiple antibiotics are not uncommon. We performed a genetic screen using a library of transposon (Tn) mutants to identify E. faecalis biofilm-assoc

SUBMITTER: Dale JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4468649 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature