TABLE 1.
Relevant characteristics of the 51 E. faecium strains isolated in The Netherlands
| Sgr gene(s) | Size (kb) of the hybridizing HindIII fragment | Strain origin(s) (no. of isolates and city) |
|---|---|---|
| satA | 2.3a | Turkey farmer (1) |
| 3.8a | Pigs (2, Weert) | |
| 3.9 | Turkey farmer (1) | |
| 3.9a | Turkey farmer (1), chicken farmers (2), suburban inhabitants (1, Weert; 2, Roermond) | |
| 4.0a | Broiler (1), chicken farmer (1), suburban inhabitant (1, Weert) | |
| 4.3a | Chicken farmer (1) | |
| 4.5a | Chicken farmer (1), pig (1, Weert) | |
| 5.6a | Chicken farmer (1) | |
| 6.0a | Turkey (1) | |
| 7.0a | Broiler (1) | |
| satG | 1.4 | Turkeys (3) |
| 1.8 | Pigs (2, Weert) | |
| 1.9 | Suburban inhabitant (1, Weert) | |
| 2.0 | Chicken farmer (1), turkey farmer (1) | |
| 2.0a | Chicken farmer (1) | |
| 2.3 | Turkey farmer (1) | |
| 2.5 | Turkey farmers (2) | |
| 2.5a | Turkey farmer (1) | |
| 3.6a | Broilers (3), turkey (1) | |
| 4.3a | Broilers (5) | |
| 5.0a | Turkeys (4), turkey farmer (1), broilers (2) | |
| 7.3a | Turkey farmer (1) | |
| >10.0a | Broiler (1) | |
| satG plus vat-vgb | 4.6a | Turkey farmer (1)b |
| 8.9 |
a
This fragment was among those detected in extrachromosomal DNA bands (≥40 kb) migrating above the chromosomal DNA fragments of the uncleaved total cellular DNA by agarose gel electrophoresis in Tris-acetate buffer. In the other strains, the hybridizing bands comigrated with the chromosomal fragments, but the hybridization signals were as strong as those of the extrachromosomal DNA, suggesting that they may be carried by plasmids.
b
Strain KH6 was the only strain in which the vat-vgb combination was detected.