Genetic diversity and safety aspects of enterococci from slightly fermented sausages

Aims: To determine the biodiversity of enterococci from slightly fermented sausages (chorizo and fuet) at species and strain level by molecular typing, while considering their safety aspects. Methods and Results: Species-specific PCR and partial sequencing of 16S rRNA and sodA genes were used to identify enterococcal population. Enterococcus faecium was the most frequently isolated species followed by E. faecalis, E. hirae and E. durans. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR revealed species-specific clusters and allowed strain typing. Sixty strains of 106 isolates exhibited different RAPD profiles indicating a high genetic variability. All the E. faecalis strains carried virulence genes (efaAfs, esp, agg and gelE) and all E. faecium isolates carried efaAfm gene. Enterococcus faecalis showed higher antibiotic resistance than the other species. Only one E. faecium strain showed vanA genotype (high-level resistance to glycopeptides) and E. gallinarum and E. casseliflavus/flavescens isolates showed vanC1 and vanC2/C3 genotypes (low-level resistance only to vancomycin) respectively. Conclusions: E. faecalis has been mainly associated with virulence factors and antimicrobial multi-resistance and, although potential risk for human health is low, the presence of this species in slightly fermented sausages should be avoided to obtain high quality products. Significance and Impact of the Study: The enterococcal population of slightly fermented sausages has been thoroughly characterized. Several relevant safety aspects have been revealed.