The vanM gene was first found in a vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREm) isolate in Shanghai in 2006. In this study, we found that, in 70 VREm strains isolated in nine Shanghai hospitals from 2006 to 2014, vanM was more prevalent than the vanA gene (64.3% [45/70] versus 35.7% [25/70]). The vanM-type isolates showed similar antimicrobial susceptibility patterns with the vanA types. Th...

Inducible resistance to the glycopeptide antibiotic vancomycin requires expression of vanH, vanA and vanX, controlled by a two-component regulatory system consisting of a receptor histidine kinase, VanS, and a response regulator, VanR. The identity of the VanS receptor ligand has been debated. Using a synthesized vancomycin photoaffinity probe, we show that vancomycin directly binds Streptomyce...

The experimental transfer of the vanA gene cluster from Enterococcus faecalis to Staphylococcus aureus has raised fears about the occurrence of such genetic transfer in clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant staphylococci. Recently, infections by a S. aureus strain carrying the enterococcal vancomycin resistance vanA gene cluster were reported. The possible emergence and dissemination of th...

Vancomycin resistance in Enterococcus faecium BM4147 is mediated by vancomycin resistance proteins VanA and VanH. VanA is a D-alanine:D-alanine ligase of altered substrate specificity [Bugg, T. D. H., Dutka-Malen, S., Arthur, M., Courvalin, P., & Walsh, C. T. (1991) Biochemistry 30, 2017-2021], while the sequence of VanH is related to those of alpha-keto acid dehydrogenases [Arthur, M., Molinas...

The replacement of amino acids 1 and 3 of glycopeptide antibiotics (dalbaheptides) with new amino acids or other chemical entities suitable to interact with both glycopeptide-resistant (D-Ala-D-Lactate) and susceptible (D-Ala-D-Ala) targets is one of the chemical strategies currently followed to pursue activity against highly glycopeptide-resistant VanA enterococci while maintaining activity ag...

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci strains (VRE) is an important pathogen related with hospital infections in many countries, presenting limited or no therapeutic options for treating serious infections. VRE has presented some different genotypes been VanA and VanB considered to be the most important in hospital environments. In the present study the authors investigated the prevalence of van gen...

The presence of Enterococcus-associated vancomycin resistance genes vanA, vanB, vanD, vanE, and vanG in rectal swabs was investigated in two hospitals using PCR. All vanA genes detected were associated with vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), whereas VRE-associated vanB genes were detected in only one hospital (4.7%). However, in both hospitals, high prevalences of vanB (6.2 and 2.3%), vanD...

Vanillin-2amino nicotinic acid (VANA) has been proposed as new analytical reagent for the direct non-extractive spectrophotometric determination of Arsenic. The reagent reacts with arsenic in acidic medium (pH 5.0, Sodium acetateacetic acid buffer) to form light greenish yellow colored 1:1 (M:L). The colour reactions are instaneous and the maximum absorbance was obtained at 350 nm and remains c...

We compared ChromID VRE and Brilliance VRE media for the detection of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). Using a panel of 28 enterococcal isolates, 10 vanA Enterococcus faecium and three vanA Enterococcus faecalis isolates grew as per manufacturers' instructions whilst growth of two vanC and eight vancomycin-susceptible enterococci was inhibited on both media. Important differences were no...

We report on a detailed study on the molecular diversity and evolutionary relationships of Tn1546-like elements in vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) from humans and animals. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the VanA transposon of 97 VRE revealed seven different Tn1546 types. Subsequent sequencing of the complete VanA transposons of 13 VRE isolates representing th...