The distribution of isoprenoid quinones in streptococci of serological groups D and N.

The isoprenoid quinone contents of streptococci of serological groups D and N were investigated. Streptococcus faecalis, S. faecalis subsp. liquefaciens and S. faecalis subsp. zymogenes strains contained demethylmenaquinones with nine isoprene units as their major isoprenologues. Menaquinones with eight isoprene units predominated in S. faecium subsp. casseliflavus and S. faecium subsp. mobilis whereas menaquinones with nine isoprene units constituted the major components in strains of S. cremoris, S. cremoris subsp. alactosus, S. lactis and S. lactis subsp. diacetylactis. Strains of S. avium, S. bovis, S. durans, S. equinus, S. faecium, S. raffinolactis and S. suis contained neither menaquinones nor ubiquinones. The isoprenoid quinone data correlate well with other kinds of data on these organisms and are of value in the classification of these bacteria.     

Studies on the mechanism of intrinsic resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics in group D streptococci

Six penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) were detected in clinical isolates of each one of three group D streptococci: Streptococcus bovis, S. faecalis and S. faecium. When examined in whole organisms, the PBPs of S. faecium, the most penicillin-resistant species of group D streptococci, generally had lower affinities for the antibiotic than those of S. faecalis (intermediate penicillin resistance), which in turn were of lower affinity than those of S. bovis (penicillin-sensitive). On the other hand, no quantitative correlation could be established between the binding of penicillin to any one PBP or group of PBPs, and the penicillin MIC value for the corresponding micro-organism. Examination of the amounts of antibiotic bound and the rates of binding to PBPs of equal numbers of protoplasts and whole bacteria of S. faecalis and S. faecium, indicated that there was no permeability barrier to benzylpenicillin in the cell walls of these species. The lower antibacterial effectiveness of cephalothin compared with ampicillin in group D streptococci was paralleled by the higher concentrations of cephalothin needed in competition assays to inhibit the lower molecular size PBPs of these bacteria.     

Enumeration and speciation of group D streptococci from above and below a sewer outfall,their susceptibilities to six antibiotics and a comparison with clinical isolates

Isolates of group D streptococci from above and below a sewer outfall and a series of clinical isolates have been speciated to sub-species level. From below the sewer outfall, Streptococcus faecalis var. faecalis predominates whereas above the outfall, S. faecium var. casseliflavus predominates. S. faecalis var. faecalis, S. faecalis var. liquefaciens and S. faecalis var. zymogenes were the predominant sub-species in the clinical isolates where S. faecium var. casseliflavus was virtually absent. S. faecalis var. liquefaciens and S. faecalis var. zymogenes were uncommon in the environmental isolates. S. faecium and S. durans were more abundant in the environmental than in the clinical isolates. The use of group D streptococci as indicators of faecal pollution would seem more suited to higher, rather than lower, levels of pollution. A statistically significant increase in resistance to antibiotics (ampicillin, penicillin, streptomycin, gentamicin, erythromycin and tetracycline) was seen in isolates from below the outfall compared with those from above and a further significant increase was seen in the clinical isolates compared with the former. Resistance to tetracycline was most common and ampicillin was the only antibiotic tested to which no resistance was detected. Multiple antibiotic resistance was rare in the environmental isolates. Even in moderately polluted water, there is not a large pool of antibiotic resistance.     

Reducing activity and differential thermal analysis of enterococci

The reducing activity of 100 Streptococcus faecalis strains, 100 Streptococcus faecium strains and 100 enterococcal strains were studied by the quantitative method. The study revealed that all mobile enterococci, in contrast to S. faecium, reduce 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride with the formation of triphenylformasan. Differential thermal analysis also indicated that S. faecalis, S. faecium and mobile enterococci had thermograms with definite mathematical characteristics and could be best differentiated by the indices of their form and the size of S3 areas. The quantitative methods of the investigation of reducing activity and differential thermal analysis can be used for the differentiation of enterococcal species. Mobile enterococci have definite characteristics allowing one to sharply differentiate them from S. faecium and S. faecalis.     

Implementation of X-ray Fluorescence Microscopy for Investigation of Elemental Abnormalities in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

The abnormalities of metallochemical reactions may contribute to the pathogenesis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). In the present work, an investigation of the elemental composition of the gray matter, nerve cells and white matter from spinal cord tissues representing three ALS cases and five non-ALS controls was performed. This was done with the use of the synchrotron microbeam X-ray fluorescence technique (micro-SRXRF). The following elements were detected in the tissue sections: P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Fe, Cu, Zn and Br. A higher accumulation of Cl, K, Ca, Zn and Br was observed in the nerve cell bodies than in the surrounding tissue. Contrary to all other elements, Zn accumulation was lower in the white matter areas than in the gray matter ones. The results of quantitative analysis showed that there were no general abnormalities in the elemental accumulation between the ALS and the control group. However, for individual ALS cases such abnormalities were observed for the nerve cells. We also demonstrated differences in the elemental accumulation between the analyzed ALS cases.     

Susceptibility of fecal streptococci of poultry origin to nine growth-promoting agents.

The minimal inhibitory concentrations of nine growth-promoting agents were determined by an agar-dilution method against 66 bile-tolerant streptococcal (8 Streptococcus faecalis, 23 Streptococcus faecalis subsp. liquefaciens, 15 Streptococcus faecium, and 20 carboxyphilic streptococci) strains isolated from the ceca of 52 chickens on 19 farms. Avoparcin was equally active on all groups. The natural susceptibilities against the other substances differed among the groups studied. Bacitracin and virginiamycin were more active on S. faecium and S. faecalis than on S. faecalis subsp. liquefaciens; lincomycin and the macrolide antibiotics were more active on S. faecium than on the other groups; and flavomycin was active on all groups except S. faecium. High percentages of acquired resistance were noted in all groups against bacitracin, lincomycin, and the macrolide antibiotics, oleandomycin, spiramycin, and tylosin. Resistance to nitrovin was found only among the S. faecalis and S. faecium groups.     

Group Q Streptococci II. Nutritional Characteristics and Growth Relationship to Thymine, Folate, and Folinate

The vitamin requirements of the group Q streptococci (Streptococcus avium) and the established enterococcal species (S. faecalis and S. faecium) paralleled one another, although S. avium did not characteristically require riboflavine or pyridoxal. S. avium was further differentiated in that it required thymine for growth initiation whether or not folate was present. Folate was stimulatory in the presence of sub-optimal concentrations of thymine, as well as during the early growth period with optimal thymine concentrations. Folinate completely replaced the thymine requirement, and the S. avium strains required significantly higher concentrations than did Pediococcus cerevisiae 8081. The requirement pattern for folate and related compounds was compared, and marked differences were observed in the requirements of S. faecalis, S. faecium, S. avium, and P. cerevisiae.     

Design and synthesis of quinolinones as methionyl-tRNA synthetase inhibitors

Five new structural analogues of substituted-1H-quinolinones (19, 20, 23, 24, and 26) have been synthesized and evaluated for Staphylococcus aureus methionyl-tRNA synthetase enzyme inhibitory activity. These compounds were also tested against pathogens of six S. aureus, two Enterococcus faecalis, and one Enterococcus faecium. Among all the synthesized quinolinones, compound 20 displayed significant inhibitory activities in the strains of E. faecalis and E. faecium.     

X-ray fluorescence analysis of long-term changes in the levels and distributions of trace elements in the rat brain following mechanical injury

This paper describes the results of the application of X-ray fluorescence microscopy to the qualitative, topographic and quantitative elemental analysis of nervous tissue from rats with neocortical brain injury. The tissue samples were analyzed with a 15 μm beam defined by the size of the polycapillary focus. Raster scanning of the samples generated 2D cartographies, revealing the distributions of elements such as P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Fe, Cu, and Zn. Special emphasis was placed on the analysis of the areas neighboring the lesion site and the hippocampal formation tissue. The results obtained for rats with mechanical brain injuries were compared with those recorded for controls and animals with pilocarpine-induced seizures. There were no significant differences in the elemental compositions of gray and white matter between injured and uninjured brain hemispheres. A higher level of Ca was observed in the gray matter of both of the hemispheres in brains with neocortical injuries. A similar relation was noticed for Fe in the white matter. A comparative study of hippocampal formation tissue showed a statistically significant decrease in the mass per unit area of P in the dentate gyrus (DG) and the hilus (H) of DG for animals with brain lesions in comparison with the control group. Analogous relations were found for Cu in the DG and Zn in sector 3 of Ammon’s horn (CA3) and the DG. It is important to note that identical changes in the same areas were observed for animals with pilocarpine-induced seizures in our previous study.     

The degree of DNA homology in enterococci

Studies carried out by the method of DNA-DNA hybridization have confirmed that Enterococcus faecalis, S. faecium and S. durans are independent species. As revealed in these studies, S. faecalis are homogeneous, genetically related and form an independent, sharply defined species, while S. faecium form a heterogeneous species. Mobile enterococci with yellow pigmentation must not be classified with both S. faecalis and S. faecium.     

Occurrence, structure, and mobility of Tn1546-like elements in environmental isolates of vancomycin-resistant enterococci

The occurrence, structure, and mobility of Tn1546-like elements were studied in environmental vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) isolated from municipal sewage, activated sludge, pharmaceutical waste derived from antibiotic production, seawater, blue mussels, and soil. Of 200 presumptive VRE isolates tested, 71 (35%) harbored vanA. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis allowed the detection of 26 subtypes, which were identified as Enterococcus faecium (n = 13), E. casseliflavus (n = 6), E. mundtii (n = 3), E. faecalis (n = 3), and E. durans (n = 1) by phenotypic tests and 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing. Long PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (L-PCR-RFLP) analysis of Tn1546-like elements and PCR analysis of internal regions revealed the presence of seven groups among the 29 strains studied. The most common group (group 1) corresponded to the structure of Tn1546 in the prototype strain E. faecium BM4147. Two novel L-PCR-RFLP patterns (groups 3 and 4) were found for E. casseliflavus strains. Indistinguishable Tn1546-like elements occurred in VRE strains belonging to different species or originating from different sources. Interspecies plasmid-mediated transfer of vancomycin resistance to E. faecium BM4105 was demonstrated for E. faecalis, E. mundtii, and E. durans. This study indicates that VRE, including species other than E. faecium and E. faecalis, are widespread in nature and in environments that are not exposed to vancomycin selection and not heavily contaminated with feces, such as seawater, blue mussels, and nonagricultural soil. Tn1546-like elements can readily transfer between enterococci of different species and ecological origins, therefore raising questions about the origin of these transposable elements and their possible transfer between environmental and clinical settings.     

Peptidoglycan composition and taxonomy of group D, E, and H streptococci, and Streptococcus mutans

The qualitative and quantitative composition of the peptidoglycan from the cell wall of groups D, E, and H streptococci, and Streptococcus mutans, was determined. In group D, S. faecalis and the closely related species S. liquefaciens and S. zymogenes were separated from S. faecium and the closely related species S. durans on the basis of their peptidoglycan composition. A relationship among S. bovis, S. equinus, and some strains of S. mutans was indicated by the presence in each of a similar peptidoglycan containing threonine. Threonine was released from the S. mutans polymer as a threonine-lysine dipeptide. Hydrolysis of the dipeptide at 100 C for 24 hr in 6 n HC1 was required to break the peptide bond. Motile group D streptococci possessed a peptidoglycan of the same composition as S. faecium. Group E and H strains were also similar in the composition of their peptidoglycan. The results demonstrate that peptidoglycan composition can be used to (i) aid in the division of members of an immunological group into subgroups, and (ii) indicate a relationship between members of the same genus which are not related on an immunological basis.     

Selection of fecal enterococci exhibiting tcrB-mediated copper resistance in pigs fed diets supplemented with copper

Copper, as copper sulfate, is increasingly used as an alternative to in-feed antibiotics for growth promotion in weaned piglets. Acquired copper resistance, conferred by a plasmid-borne, transferable copper resistance (tcrB) gene, has been reported in Enterococcus faecium and E. faecalis. A longitudinal field study was undertaken to determine the relationship between copper supplementation and the prevalence of tcrB-positive enterococci in piglets. The study was done with weaned piglets, housed in 10 pens with 6 piglets per pen, fed diets supplemented with a normal (16.5 ppm; control) or an elevated (125 ppm) level of copper. Fecal samples were randomly collected from three piglets per pen on days 0, 14, 28, and 42 and plated on M-Enterococcus agar, and three enterococcal isolates were obtained from each sample. The overall prevalence of tcrB-positive enterococci was 21.1% (38/180) in piglets fed elevated copper and 2.8% (5/180) in the control. Among the 43 tcrB-positive isolates, 35 were E. faecium and 8 were E. faecalis. The mean MICs of copper for tcrB-negative and tcrB-positive enterococci were 6.2 and 22.2 mM, respectively. The restriction digestion of the genomic DNA of E. faecium or E. faecalis with S1 nuclease yielded a band of ～194-kbp size to which both tcrB and the erm(B) gene probes hybridized. A conjugation assay demonstrated cotransfer of tcrB and erm(B) genes between E. faecium and E. faecalis strains. The higher prevalence of tcrB-positive enterococci in piglets fed elevated copper compared to that in piglets fed normal copper suggests that supplementation of copper in swine diets selected for resistance.     

Species Differentiation of Faecal and Nonfaecal Enterococci

A number of the cultural and biochemical criteria of the more resistant enterococci were used collectively to speciate 2,477 enterooocci strains isolated from water, soil, vegetation, sewage and human and animal faeces into 2 major groups: Streptococcus faecalis and S. faecium. Streptococcus faecalis was found to predominate in the human and poultry gut, S. faecium predominated in the livestock gut, while both organisms were about equally demonstrated in water, soil, vegetation and sewage samples.     

Taxonomic studies on some group D streptococci

Biochemical, menaquinone, fatty acid and DNA analyses were conducted on a number of streptococci of serological group D. The results indicate that S. faecalis, S. faeclum, S. casseliflavus and taxa previously designated 'S. avium', 'S. durans' and "S. faecalis var. malodoratus' are distinct species. Strains previously labelled 'S. faecium var. mobilis' were shown to be identical with S. casseliflavus. The results also indicate that some group D streptococci recently isolated from chickens constitute a new species.     

Pyridine-2,6-bis(thiocarboxylic acid) produced by Pseudomonas stutzeri KC reduces and precipitates selenium and tellurium oxyanions

The siderophore of Pseudomonas stutzeri KC, pyridine-2,6-bis(thiocarboxylic acid) (pdtc), is shown to detoxify selenium and tellurium oxyanions in bacterial cultures. A mechanism for pdtc's detoxification of tellurite and selenite is proposed. The mechanism is based upon determination using mass spectrometry and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry of the chemical structures of compounds formed during initial reactions of tellurite and selenite with pdtc. Selenite and tellurite are reduced by pdtc or its hydrolysis product H(2)S, forming zero-valent pdtc selenides and pdtc tellurides that precipitate from solution. These insoluble compounds then hydrolyze, releasing nanometer-sized particles of elemental selenium or tellurium. Electron microscopy studies showed both extracellular precipitation and internal deposition of these metalloids by bacterial cells. The precipitates formed with synthetic pdtc were similar to those formed in pdtc-producing cultures of P. stutzeri KC. Culture filtrates of P. stutzeri KC containing pdtc were also active in removing selenite and precipitating elemental selenium and tellurium. The pdtc-producing wild-type strain KC conferred higher tolerance against selenite and tellurite toxicity than a pdtc-negative mutant strain, CTN1. These observations support the hypothesis that pdtc not only functions as a siderophore but also is involved in an initial line of defense against toxicity from various metals and metalloids.     

Activities of Arginine Dihydrolase and Phosphatase in Streptococcus faecalis and Streptococcus faecium

Strains of Streptococcus faecalis and S. faecium are known to produce ammonia from arginine, but only S. faecalis couples the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) produced through the arginine dihydrolase pathway to growth processes. The specific activities of the arginine dihydrolase enzymes were found to be much lower in S. faecium (0.01 to 0.10) than in S. faecalis (0.24 to 1.60). Phosphatase activities in both strains were similar (up to 0.11), but equaled or exceeded the activities of the arginine dihydrolase enzymes in S. faecium. The failure of S. faecium to show increased growth in arginine media is explained on the basis of low activities of the arginine dihydrolase enzymes coupled with sufficient phosphatase activity to negate any benefit from ATP formed.     

Identification of a streptococcal penicillin-binding protein that reacts very slowly with penicillin.

Penicillin-binding protein (PBP) 5 of Streptococcus faecium ATCC 9790 has an unusually low affinity for penicillin (50% binding occurred at a penicillin level of 8 micrograms/ml after 60 min of incubation, and the protein only became labeled after 20 min of incubation with high concentrations of radioactive penicillin). PBPs with similar properties are carried by strains of Streptococcus durans, Streptococcus faecalis, and Streptococcus lactis but not by strains of groups A, B, C, and G streptococci or Streptococcus pneumoniae. The strains carrying the slow-reacting PBP demonstrated a sensitivity to penicillin that was several hundred times lower than that of strains not carrying it. Spontaneous mutants with minimal inhibitory concentrations of penicillin of 20, 40, and 80 micrograms/ml were isolated from S. faecium ATCC 9790. They all showed a dramatic increase in the amount of slow-reacting PBP produced. Mutants with increased penicillin resistance were also isolated from wild-type strains of S. durans, S. faecalis, and S. faecium. All of them carried a greater amount of the slow-reacting PBP than that carried by the parent. Finally, it was found that resistant S. faecium ATCC 9790 mutants grew normally in the presence of penicillin concentrations that were far above that saturating all PBPs except PBP 5. Cell growth was, on the contrary, inhibited by a penicillin concentration that saturated the slow-reacting PBP by 90%. This penicillin dose was equal to the minimal inhibitory concentration.     

The microbiology of butyrate formation in the human colon

A physical map of the Enterococcus faecium ATCC19434 chromosome was constructed by NotI, I-CeuI and Sse8387I. The chromosome was a circular DNA of 2600 kb in size, and contained six rRNA operons (rrn). The locations and orientations of the six rrn operons and 24 different determinants were mapped. Genomes of three additional E. faecium strains were also analyzed by I-CeuI digestion, and the genome sizes were found to vary from 2550 to 2995 kb. We further investigated the genome sizes and number of rrn operons in four E. faecalis, one E. avium, and one E. durans strains. The genome sizes were larger than E. faecium: 3000-3250 kb in E. faecalis, 3445 kb in E. avium, and 3070 kb in E. durans. E. avium and E. durans contained six rrn operons as in E. faecium, but all the E. faecalis strains possessed four rrn operons.