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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, August 1998, p. 2294-2297, Vol. 36, No. 8
0095-1137/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Detection and Differentiation of vanC-1, vanC-2, and vanC-3 Glycopeptide Resistance Genes in Enterococci

Nancye C. Clark,1,* Lucia M. Teixeira,2,3 Richard R. Facklam,2 and Fred C. Tenover1

Hospital Infections Program1 and Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases,2 National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, and Instituto de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 219413

Received 9 February 1998/Returned for modification 16 March 1998/Accepted 12 May 1998

The VanC phenotype, as found in Enterococcus gallinarum, E. casseliflavus, and E. flavescens, is characterized by intrinsic low-level resistance to vancomycin. The nucleotide sequences of the vanC-1 gene in E. gallinarum, the vanC-2 gene in E. casseliflavus, and the vanC-3 gene in E. flavescens have been reported, although there is some disagreement as to whether E. flavescens is a legitimate enterococcal species. Previous attempts to differentiate the vanC-2 and vanC-3 genes by PCR analysis have been unsuccessful. The purpose of the present study was to detect and differentiate the three vanC determinants and examine the distribution of these genes in a collection of both typical and atypical enterococci. The 796-bp vanC-1 PCR product was amplified only from E. gallinarum isolates. As expected, due to the extensive homology in the vanC-2 and vanC-3 gene sequences, all of the E. casseliflavus and E. casseliflavus/flavescens isolates produced the 484-bp vanC-2 PCR product, although the E. gallinarum isolates were negative. Only the E. casseliflavus/flavescens isolates produced the 224-bp vanC-3 product. Using the three sets of primers, we were able to detect and distinguish the vanC-1, vanC-2, and vanC-3 genes from both typical and atypical enterococci strains. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests and analysis of genomic DNA by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis were also performed, but the results indicated that they were not able to distinguish among strains possessing the three vanC genotypes.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd. NE, Mailstop G-08, Atlanta, GA 30333. Phone: (404) 639-0195. Fax: (404) 639-1381. E-mail: ncc1{at}cdc.gov.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, August 1998, p. 2294-2297, Vol. 36, No. 8
0095-1137/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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