Over the past 30 years, multidrug resistant enterococci have emerged as leading causes of hospital acquired infection. With the acquisition of resistance to vancomycin in the mid 1980’s many of these infections became extremely difficult to treat. To address this problem, researchers with an interest in various aspects of enterococcal biology have come together to consolidate much of what is known about this genus into a single text. Enterococci: From commensals to leading causes of drug resistant infection provides state-of-the-art summaries of what is known about 1) Their origins, distribution in nature and gut colonization, 2) Infection – history, incidence, and pathology, 3) Enterococci as indicators of contamination and in public policy, 4) Infection treatment and antibiotic resistance, 5) Pathogenesis and models of enterococcal infection, 6) Comparative enterococcal genomics, 7) Nature, maintenance and transmission of extrachromosomal elements, 8) Enterococcal phage and genome defense, 9) Transcriptional and post transcriptional control of enterococcal gene regulation, 10) Enterococcal cell wall components and structures, 11) Enterococcal biofilm structure and role in colonization and disease, 12) Metabolic and physiologic traits that contribute to the special biology of enterococci, and 13) Enterococcal bacteriocins and other bacterial factors that contribute to niche control.

Contents

• Preface
  Created: February 24, 2014.
• Enterococcus Diversity, Origins in Nature, and Gut Colonization
  Francois Lebreton, Rob J. L. Willems, and Michael S. Gilmore.
  Created: February 2, 2014.
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • The Enterococcus genus: definition and diversity
  • Enterococcal species: Natural and man-made habitats
  • Conclusions
  • References
• Enterococcal Disease, Epidemiology, and Implications for Treatment
  Nelson I. Agudelo Higuita and Mark M Huycke.
  Created: February 4, 2014.
  • Enterococcal Disease
  • Epidemiology
  • Infection Control
  • Treatment
  • Summary and Conclusions
  • References
• Enterococci as Indicators of Environmental Fecal Contamination
  Alexandria B. Boehm and Lauren M. Sassoubre.
  Created: February 5, 2014.
  • Detection of Enterococci
  • Enterococci as Indicators of Fecal Contamination in Recreational Water
  • Enterococci as Indicators of Fecal Contamination on Hands
  • Future Research Needs
  • References
• Enterococcal Infection—Treatment and Antibiotic Resistance
  Christopher J. Kristich, Louis B. Rice, and Cesar A. Arias.
  Created: February 6, 2014.
  • Molecular Mechanisms of Antibiotic Resistance in Enterococci
  • Enterococci are Generous with Their Genes: Mobile Genetic Elements Enable Facile Horizontal Transfer and Spread of Antibiotic Resistance Determinants Among Enterococci
  • Enterococcal Infection: Strategies for, and Consequences of, Antibiotic Treatment
  • References
• Pathogenesis and Models of Enterococcal Infection
  Danielle A. Garsin, Kristi L. Frank, Jouko Silanpää, Frederick M. Ausubel, Axel Hartke, Nathan Shankar, and Barbara E. Murray.
  Created: February 7, 2014.
  • Introduction
  • Models for Studying Enterococcal Infection
  • Analysis of Virulence of E. faecalis
  • Conclusions
  • References
• Enterococcal Genomics
  Kelli L. Palmer, Willem van Schaik, Rob J. L. Willems, and Michael S. Gilmore.
  Created: February 8, 2014.
  • Introduction
  • Population structures of E. faecalis and E. faecium defined by MLST
  • Early Comparative Genome Analysis Reveals the Existence of a Pathogenicity Island in E. faecalis
  • The First Complete Enterococcal Genome, E. faecalis V583, and Comparison With OG1RF
  • Dynamic E. faecalis Genomes and CRISPR-Cas Defense
  • The Recombinogenic Nature of E. faecalis
  • E. faecium Genome Sequencing
  • Toward a Genome-Based Reconstruction of E. faecium Evolution
  • Intraspecies Diversity of E. faecium
  • Diversity in the E. faecium Accessory Genome: Plasmids, Phage and Genomic Islands
  • Genomics of Other Enterococci
  • Differences Between Enterococcal Species Revealed by Genomics
  • Additional Genomic Applications: Metagenomics and Genome Resequencing
  • Conclusion and Perspectives
  • References
• Extrachromosomal and Mobile Elements in Enterococci: Transmission, Maintenance, and Epidemiology
  Don B. Clewell, Keith E. Weaver, Gary M. Dunny, Teresa M. Coque, Maria Victoria Francia, and Finbarr Hayes.
  Created: February 9, 2014.
  • Introduction
  • Plasmid Transmission
  • Plasmid Maintenance
  • On the Categorization of Plasmids
  • Epidemiology and the Flow of Mobile Genetic Elements: Opportunities and Limitations
  • Concluding Remarks
  • Appendix
  • References
• Enterococcal Bacteriophages and Genome Defense
  Breck A. Duerkop, Kelli L. Palmer, and Malcolm J. Horsburgh.
  Created: February 11, 2014.
  • Distribution of phages across the enterococci
  • Known phage families found among Enterococci
  • Environments where enterococcal phages are found
  • Enterococcal Temperate Phages and the Impact of Lysogeny
  • Enterococcal Lytic Phages
  • Enterococcal Genome Defense Mechanisms
  • Perspectives and Future Directions
  • Concluding Remarks
  • References
• Transcriptional and Post Transcriptional Control of Enterococcal Gene Regulation
  Sruti DebRoy, Peng Gao, Danielle A. Garsin, Barret R. Harvey, Veronica Kos, Ingolf F. Nes, and Margrete Solheim.
  Created: February 12, 2014.
  • Virulence Related Gene Expression Regulation
  • Intercellular Signaling Regulated Gene Expression
  • Antimicrobial Response
  • Response to Environmental Cues
  • Ethanolamine—An Interesting Case of Post-Transcriptional Regulation
  • An AdoCbl-Binding Riboswitch
  • Conclusion
  • References
• Enterococcal Cell Wall Components and Structures
  Lynn E. Hancock, Barbara E. Murray, and Jouko Sillanpää.
  Created: February 13, 2014.
  • Enterococcal Cell Walls
  • Cell Wall Associated Proteins
  • Cell Envelope Dynamics
  • Cell-Wall Teichoic Acids
  • Enterococcal Polysaccharide Antigen (Epa)
  • Capsular Polysaccharide (Cps)
  • Cell-Wall Anchored Proteins
  • MSCRAMMs
  • Conclusion and Future Perspectives
  • References
• Enterococcal Biofilm Structure and Role in Colonization and Disease
  Gary M. Dunny, Lynn E. Hancock, and Nathan Shankar.
  Created: February 14, 2014.
  • Epidemiology of Biofilm-Related Enterococcal Infections
  • Factors that Affect Biofilm Formation
  • Enterococcal Surface Adhesins
  • Regulation of Biofilm Development
  • Future Directions
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• The Physiology and Metabolism of Enterococci
  Matthew Ramsey, Axel Hartke, and Mark Huycke.
  Created: February 15, 2014.
  • Introduction
  • Sugar Metabolism
  • α-Keto Acid Metabolism
  • Deiminase Catabolism
  • Respiration
  • Ion Transport
  • Nucleotide Biosynthesis
  • Coenzymes and Prosthetic Groups
  • Stress Responses
  • Redox Metabolism
  • Conclusion
  • References
• Enterococcal Bacteriocins and Antimicrobial Proteins that Contribute to Niche Control
  Ingolf F. Ness, Dzung B. Diep, and Yasuyoshi Ike.
  Created: February 16, 2014.
  • Introduction
  • Class I: Lantibiotics
  • Class II Bacteriocins
  • The Ecology of Enterocins
  • Future Perspectives
  • References