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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, April 1999, p. 1084-1091, Vol. 37, No. 4
Laboratory of Hospital Infection,
Received 30 June 1998/Returned for modification 21 October
1998/Accepted 26 December 1998
The degree of DNA banding pattern polymorphism exhibited by
vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREM) strains
isolated on a renal unit over an 11-month period was investigated.
Thirty VREM strains from different patients were analyzed by
pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE; with extended run and optimal
pulse times), ribotyping, plasmid profile analysis, biotyping,
pyrolysis mass spectrometry, and antibiogram analysis. PFGE resolved 17 banding patterns which formed four distinct clusters at the 82% similarity level. Intercluster band differences ranged from 14 to 31 bands. The strains in one cluster, which contained seven patterns that
differed from each other by one to seven bands and from the common
pattern by five bands, were confirmed to be a single strain by four of
the five other typing methods. The strains in a second cluster with
eight patterns, which differed from each other by 1 to 12 bands,
contained two subclusters. This subdivision was supported by ribotyping
and biotyping. However, it was unclear whether these subclusters
represented distinct strains. In one strain, marked polymorphism
(patterns that differed from each other by up to four bands) was
observed in the ribotype pattern. This study demonstrates the high
degree of DNA banding pattern polymorphism found for some strains of
VREM and illustrates the complexity involved in defining such strains.
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
DNA Banding Pattern Polymorphism in
Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium and Criteria for
Defining Strains
*
Corresponding author. Present address: Scottish MRSA
Reference Laboratory, Bacteriology Department, Royal Infirmary, Glasgow G4 0SF, United Kingdom. Phone: (0)141-211-4647. Fax: (0)141-552-1524. E-mail: donald-morrison{at}msn.com.
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, April 1999, p. 1084-1091, Vol. 37, No. 4
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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