Screening of stool samples for identification of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus isolates should include the methyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoside test to differentiate nonmotile Enterococcus gallinarum from E. faecium

J Clin Microbiol. 1998 Aug;36(8):2333-5. doi: 10.1128/JCM.36.8.2333-2335.1998.

Abstract

The methyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoside (MDG) test has been shown to be superior to motility testing in differentiating Enterococcus faecium from E. gallinarum. In the present study, 33 vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) isolates collected as part of a stool surveillance study were compared by using motility and MDG. Motility testing identified all 33 isolates as E. faecium, whereas MDG identified 11 of the 33 isolates as nonmotile E. gallinarum. The MDG results were confirmed by sequencing the 16S rDNA V6-to-V8 region. We conclude that the MDG test is a necessary component of routine VRE screening.

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
  • Bacterial Typing Techniques
  • Base Sequence
  • DNA, Ribosomal / analysis
  • Drug Resistance, Microbial
  • Enterococcus / classification*
  • Enterococcus / drug effects
  • Enterococcus / isolation & purification
  • Enterococcus faecium / classification
  • Enterococcus faecium / isolation & purification
  • Feces / microbiology*
  • Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / microbiology*
  • Humans
  • Methylglucosides / metabolism*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
  • Species Specificity
  • Vancomycin / pharmacology*

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • DNA, Ribosomal
  • Methylglucosides
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  • methylglucoside
  • Vancomycin

Associated data

  • GENBANK/AF023101
  • GENBANK/AF023102
  • GENBANK/AF023103
  • GENBANK/AF023104