Linezolid-resistant Enterococcus faecalis ST16 harbouring optrA on a Tn6674-like element isolated from surface water

The objective of this work was to characterise an optrA-carrying Enterococcus faecalis ST16 isolate recovered from a river water sample in Switzerland. Linezolid-resistant E. F102 surface Switzerland and subjected comprehensive genotypic characterisation analysis the genetic environment oxazolidinone/phenicol resistance gene optrA. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) performed detect linezolid mechanisms, including mutations 23S rRNA ribosomal protein genes as well acquired genes. further characterised by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) identification virulence WGS detected presence optrA identical original E349. Analysis revealed association with fexA Tn6674-like transposon co-existence spc erm(A) Sequence alignment indicated that variant previously isolated diseased healthy humans food-producing animals Asia-Pacific region. did not contain any or encoding proteins L3, L4 L22. A total 14 other 16 were detected. assigned silico ST16. spread high pathogenic potential is worrisome aspect public-health perspective.