Enterococcus columbae, a species from pigeon intestines

Gram-positive cocci which dominate in the intestinal flora of domestic pigeons were found to constitute a new species of the genus Enterococcus. The strains were most closely related to Enterococcus cecorum, originally described as Streptococcus cecorum, a carboxyphilic species from chicken intestines, and to Enterococcus avium. The pigeon strains resemble E. cecorum and also many E. avium strains in their lack of group D antigen and in being more sensitive to NaCl than other enterococci. The type strain is strain STR 345 (= NCIMB 13013).     

A simplified system for biotyping Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from different animal species

D evriese , L.A. 1984. A simplified system for biotyping Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from different animal species. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 56 , 215–220.
A biotyping system for Staphylococcus aureus strains is proposed which is a simplified version of biotyping procedures described in the literature. It differentiates Staph. aureus strains from man and animals into host-specific ecovars and biotypes which are not host-specific. With the help of tests for βhaemolysin, staphylokinase, coagulation of bovine plasma and the crystal-violet reaction, the origin of many but not all Staph. aureus strains can be determined: 604 of 809 strains from man. poultry, cattle, pigs, goats, rabbits and foods could be alloted to four ecovars which are typically associated with man, poultry, sheep and goats and cattle. The other strains belonged to five non-host specific biotypes.     

Molecular and probiotic characterization of bacteriocin-producing Enterococcus faecium strains isolated from nonfermented animal foods

Aims:  The characterization of four novel bacteriocin-producing enterococcal strains, isolated from nonfermented animal foods, was carried out with a view to evaluate their potential application as probiotics in raw and processed foodstuffs.
Methods and Results:  16S rRNA sequencing and random amplification of polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) analysis allowed the identification and intra-specific grouping of Enterococcus faecium strains, which inhibited the growth of four relevant food-borne pathogenic and spoilage species. Enterococcus faecium strains exhibited remarkable probiotic profiles, being able to survive to pH 3·0 and to the presence of bile salts, pancreatin and pepsin. Enterococcus faecium strains evaluated did not exhibit bile salt hydrolase or haemolytic activity, but showed good adhesion properties, also exhibiting sensitivity to clinically relevant antimicrobial agents.
Conclusions:  In our study, DNA sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and RAPD-PCR analysis were equally discriminatory for typing E. faecium strains. This study also confirmed the potential tolerance and survival of E. faecium strains isolated from nonfermented animal foods to the gastrointestinal tract.
Significance and Impact of the Study:  This study represents the first report on potential probiotic E. faecium strains isolated from nonfermented meat and fish. Their moderate heat resistance opens the way to their potential use as probiotics in minimally processed foods subjected to moderate heat processing.     

Staphylococci from the feces of different animal species: biotypes of Staphylococcus aureus strains of sheep and goat origin.

Staphylococcus aureus was found in 96% of the rectal swabs from 133 sheep and in 80% of the swabs from 125 goats. Seventy-seven percent of the isolates from both hosts exhibited the fibrinolytic and growth characteristics of human biotype A on human plasma and crystal violet agar, respectively, but 99% of these isolates resembled S. aureus of animal origin in their other properties. Only 21% of the sheep and 24% of the goat isolates were clearly identifiable as human biotype A and animal biotypes B and C.     

Embryonic hemoglobins of different animal species

Summary The existence of embryonic hemoglobins is demonstrated in sheep-, calf and pig embryos. The occurrence and disappearance of these hemoglobins is quantitatively determined by cellulose acetate gel electrophoresis; hemoglobins as well as the globin chains, dissociated in 8 molar urea were quantitated. Sedimentation and diffusion experiments in the analytical ultracentrifuge revealed a S₂₀ of 4.3 and a D₂₀ of 6.6 for the examined hemoglobins. Therefore it is concluded that all hemoglobins occurring at different stages of embryonic and fetal development consist of 4 polypeptide chains with a total molecular weight of 66,000. The subsequent formation of the different polypeptide chains during ontogenesis is shown: At first only -chains are formed as demonstrated by the existence of Hb Gower I, consisting of four identical -chains. Subsequently the -chain appears, which leads to Hb Gower 2 (₂₂). The third polypeptide chain formed during the ontogenesis the -chain results finally in the appearance of HbF.In addition the existence of a HbF pig is demonstrated by the fingerprint technique.     

Enterococcus species distribution among human and animal hosts using multiplex PCR

Aims: This study evaluated the use of Enterococcus species differentiation as a tool for microbial source tracking (MST) in recreational waters. Methods and Results: Avian, mammalian and human faecal samples were screened for the occurrence of Enterococcus avium, Enterococcus casseliflavus, Enterococcus durans, Enterococcus gallinarum, Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus hirae and Enterococcus saccharolyticus using multiplex PCR. Host‐specific patterns of Enterococcus species presence were observed only when data for multiple Enterococcus species were considered in aggregate. Conclusions: The results suggest that no single Enterococcus species is a reliable indicator of the host faecal source. However, Enterococcus species composite ‘fingerprints’ may offer auxiliary evidence for bacterial source identification. Significance and Impact of Study: This study presents novel information on the enterococci species assemblages present in avian and mammalian hosts proximate to the nearshore ocean. These data will aid the development of appropriate MST strategies, and the approach used in this study could potentially assist in the identification of faecal pollution sources.     

Clinical streptococci and their sensitivity to enterocins produced by different strains of the species Enterococcus faecium (short communication)

In children, acute otitis media (AOM) is one of the most frequently occurring infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Str. pyogenes. The standard treatment of AOMis provided by antibiotics; however, an increased resistance of the causative agents to antibiotics requires the need to search for innovations. This study was focused on in vitro testing sensitivity of streptococci isolated from AOM to enterocins produced by 9 different origin strains of E. faecium. Enterocins (Ent) represent ribosomally synthesized proteinaceous substances with antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and/or Gram-negative bacteria which are produced mostly by strains of the species Enterococcus faecium. Str. pneumoniae were sensitive at least to 1 Ent. Str. pneumoniae SPn 754 was sensitive to 5 Ent. Five Str. pyogenes were sensitive to enterocins. Ent A (P) inhibited the growth of 3 Str. pneumoniae, and 4 Str. pyogenes (activity between 100 and 3,200 AU/ml). Most of Ent inhibited the growth of streptococci tested (100-3,200 AU/ml). Str. pyogenes were more sensitive to Ent than Str. pneumoniae. Although more detailed further studies are required, our results indicate a new possibility for enterocin use.     

Establishment of tight junctions between cells from different animal species and different sealing capacities

Summary Epithelial cells establish tight junctions (TJs) that offer an ample range of transepithelial electrical resistances (TER), in adjustment to physiological requirements. In the present work, we demonstrate that cells from different animal origins, co-cultured in monolayers, can make sealed TJs, suggesting that this structure has a basic universal structure. TJs cannot be established, however, if one of the partners does not normally express TJs, indicating that each neighbor has to contribute its moiety. Furthermore, we observe that clones of the same cell line, with widely different values of TER, do not differ, in the number and length of their junctional trands, suggesting that the difference is due to their ability to express ionic channels traversing their strands. The value of TER achieved in mixed monolayers of cells of the same or different lines is the one that may be expected by taking into account the proportion of each type in the mixture and adding in parallel the electrical resistance that they exhibit in pure monolayers. Therefore, epithelial TJs appear to behave as parallel resistances.     

Determination of the chromosomal size of three different strains of Enterococcus faecalis and one strain of Enterococcus faecium.

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis was used to determine the chromosomal size of three different strains of Enterococcus faecalis and one strain of Enterococcus faecium. The size determinations of OG1X, a strain of E. faecalis widely used in many laboratories for genetic studies, using Sma I, Not I, and Sfi I alone or in combination, ranged from 2,750 to 2,761 kb. Using the same enzymes as with OG1X, the size of HH-67, a plasmid-free clinical isolate of E. faecalis, was determined to be 2,170-2,288 kb and the size of JH2-2, an E. faecalis recipient strain, ranged from 2,008 to 2,135 kb. The size range generated for GE-1, a plasmid-free E. faecium strain, with the use of Sma I, Not I, and Apa I was 2,045-2,155 kb. Although OG1X differed in size from the other three enterococci, each individual enterococcal strain generated reproducible results in different experiments. However, for both E. faecalis OG1X and E. faecium GE-1, one of the enzymes used generated a considerably smaller molecular size than that generated by the other two enzymes. The discrepancy was due to visually undiscernible comigrating fragments, and serves to point out a potential source of error if fewer than two enzymes are used to size a genome. The size discrepancies were resolved by digesting individual fragments with a second enzyme. The molecular sizes of these enterococcal strains are larger than that recently reported for Campylobacter, smaller than that of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and similar (OG1X) or smaller (JH2-2, HH67, and GE-1) than the 2,819-kb reported for Streptococcus mutans.