Author(s)

Marilia Martins Manta^1*, Bárbara de Azevedo Ramos², Túlio Diego da Silva³, Maria Tereza dos Santos Correia¹

¹Department of Biochemistry, Biosciences Center, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.
²Department of Antibiotics, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.
³Northeast Center of Technology and Strategies (CETENE), Recife, Brazil.

Enterococcus faecalis is a Gram-positive bacterium commonly found in the gastrointestinal tract that can cause serious infections. Many enterococci have broad resistance to antibiotics including penicillin, cephalosporins, aminoglycosides and glycopeptides. There are several adaptation mechanisms that bacteria can undergo to become more resistant, among them is the formation of biofilm. Several genes have been linked to the increase in the capacity of biofilm formation by bacteria such as gelE, esp and asa1. The aim of this research was to evaluate the biofilm formation of 12 E. faecalis isolates collected in hospitals and a standard strain, as well as to evaluate the hydrophobicity of its membrane and the presence of virulence genes. All the isolates formed biofilm and the characteristics of their membrane were variable. In addition, the presence of at least one virulence gene was found in all the 12 isolates, and none of the genes in the standard strain, indicating the acquisition of these genes in the hospital environment. With this, we can conclude that there is a close relationship between biofilm formation, acquisition of antibiotic resistance and the presence of virulence genes.

Enterococci, Gelatinase, Esp, Aggregating Substance, Resistance

Manta, M. , Ramos, B. , da Silva, T. and Correia, M. (2023) Biofilm Formation and Virulence Genes in Clinical Isolates of Enterococcus faecalis. Journal of Biosciences and Medicines, 11, 29-36. doi: 10.4236/jbm.2023.117004.