The
vanC1 gene, which is chromosomally located, confers resistance to vancomycin and serves as a species marker for
Enterococcus gallinarum
.
Enterococcus faecium
TJ4031 was isolated from a blood culture and harbours the
vanC1 gene. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays were performed to detect
vanXYc and
vanTc genes. Only the
vanXYc gene was found in the
E. faecium TJ4031 isolate. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of vancomycin and teicoplanin were 2 ìg/mL and 1 ìg/mL, respectively. Real-time reverse transcription-PCR results revealed that the
vanC1 and vanXYc genes were not expressed. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and southern hybridisation results showed that the
vanC1 gene was encoded in the chromosome.
E. faecalis isolated from animals has been reported to harbour
vanC1 gene. However, this study is the first to report the presence of the
vanC1 gene in
E. faecium of human origin. Additionally, our research showed the
vanC1 gene cannot serve as a species-specific gene of
E. gallinarum and that it is able to be transferred between bacteria. Although the resistance marker is not expressed in the strain, our results showed that
E. faecium could acquire the
vanC1 gene from different species.
