Genomic analysis of multidrug-resistant clinical Enterococcus faecalis isolates for antimicrobial resistance genes and virulence factors from the western region of Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: Enterococcus faecalis is a ubiquitous member of the gut microbiota and has emerged as a life- threatening multidrug-resistant (MDR) nosocomial pathogen. The aim of this study was to survey the prevalence of multidrug-resistant and epidemiologically important strains of E. faecalis in the western region of Saudi Arabia using phenotypic and whole genome sequencing approaches. METHODS: In total, 155 patients positive for E. faecalis infection were included in this study. The isolates were identified by MALDI-TOF, and screen for antimicrobial resistance using VITEK-2 system. Genome sequencing was performed with paired-end strategy using MiSeq platform. RESULTS: Seventeen sequence types (STs) were identified through multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis of the E. faecalis genomes, including two novels STs (ST862 and ST863). The most common STs in the Saudi patients were ST179 and ST16 from clonal complex 16 (CC16). Around 96% (n = 149) isolates were MDR. The antibiotics quinupristin/dalfopristin, clindamycin, and erythromycin demonstrated almost no coverage, and high-level streptomycin, gentamycin, and ciprofloxacin demonstrated suboptimal coverage. Low resistance was observed against vancomycin, linezolid, and ampicillin. Moreover, 34 antimicrobial resistance genes and variants, and three families of insertion sequences were found in the E. faecalis genomes, which likely contributed to the observed antimicrobial resistance. Twenty-two virulence factors, which were mainly associated with biofilm formation, endocarditis, cell adherence, and colonization, were detected in the isolates. CONCLUSIONS: Diverse STs of E. faecalis, including strains associated with common nosocomial infections are circulating in the healthcare facility of Saudi Arabia and carried multi-drug resistance, which has important implications for infection control. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13756-019-0508-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.