Isolation and characterization of vanA genotype vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus cecorum from retail poultry in Japan

Abstract

The isolation rate of high-level vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) from poultry samples in Japan has increased in recent years. As this raises concerns for the potential spread of genes encoding vancomycin resistance, poultry is routinely screened for VRE. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of a vanA genotype vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus cecorum strain (E. cecorum IPHa84) from retail domestic poultry in September 2009. The species identification was performed by biochemical testing and sequencing of the 16S rRNA and manganese-dependent superoxide dismutase genes. The vancomycin and teicoplanin susceptibility tests showed that E. cecorum IPHa84 was resistant to vancomycin and susceptible to teicoplanin, demonstrating that this isolate was VanB phenotype-vanA genotype VRE. Moreover, a vanA gene cluster was found in a chromosomally encoded Tn1546-related element, which exhibited the characteristic structure of the prototype Tn1546 element, but contained eight point mutations. The vanS sequence of E. cecorum IPHa84 contained three point mutations and was 100% identical to those of VRE isolated from different broiler droppings in Japan prior to the banning of avoparcin, indicating that the Tn1546-related element may be stable in poultry production environments, even in the absence of selective pressure. The isolation of a novel enterococcal species harboring the vanA gene reconfirms that poultry can serve as a reservoir of VanA-type VRE or vancomycin resistance genes, and suggests that the transmission of these risk factors from poultry to humans through the food chain remains a potential threat in Japan.