Characterization of Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium from wild flowers

Wild flowers in the South of Spain were screened for Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium. Enterococci were frequently associated with prickypear and fieldpoppy flowers. Forty-six isolates, from 8 different flower species, were identified as E. faecalis (28 isolates) or E. faecium (18 isolates) and clustered in well-defined groups by ERIC-PCR fingerprinting. A high incidence of antibiotic resistance was detected among the E. faecalis isolates, especially to quinupristin/dalfopristin (75%), rifampicin (68%) and ciprofloxacin (57%), and to a lesser extent to levofloxacin (35.7%), erythromycin (28.5%), tetracycline (3.5%), chloramphenicol (3.5%) and streptomycin (3.5%). Similar results were observed for E. faecium isolates, except for a higher incidence of resistance to tetracycline (17%) and lower to erythromycin (11%) or quinupristin/dalfopristin (22%). Vancomycin or teicoplanin resistances were not detected. Most isolates (especially E. faecalis) were proteolytic and carried the gelatinase gene gelE. Genes encoding other potential virulence factors (ace, efaA _fs, ccf and cpd) were frequently detected. Cytolysin genes were mainly detected in a few haemolytic E. faecium isolates, three of which also carried the collagen adhesin acm gene. Hyaluronidase gene (hyl _Efm ) was detected in two isolates. Many isolates produced bacteriocins and carried genes for enterocins A, B, and L50 mainly. The similarities found between enterococci from wild flowers and those from animal and food sources raise new questions about the puzzling lifestyle of these commensals and opportunistic pathogens.