{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T12:38:05Z","timestamp":1786711085452,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786665600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Iuliu Ha\u021bieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy","award":["32154\/14\/16.12.2024"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32154\/14\/16.12.2024"]}]},{"award":["32154\/14\/16.12.2024"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32154\/14\/16.12.2024"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/051h0cw83","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Life"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Enterococcus faecalis is a common gastrointestinal commensal and an important opportunistic pathogen. While vancomycin resistance is well characterized, data on virulence-associated genes in colonizing isolates remain limited. Methods: A total of 44 colonizing E. faecalis isolates recovered from routine VRE screening (rectal swabs) were included in the study. The presence of the virulence-associated genes asa, esp, eep, ccf, and cpd was investigated by PCR. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using standardized methods, and isolates were subsequently classified as either vancomycin-resistant (VRE) or vancomycin-susceptible (VSE). A cumulative virulence gene score was calculated for each isolate and compared between the two groups. Results: Virulence-associated genes were heterogeneously distributed. Overall, the prevalence of the investigated virulence genes was cpd (33\/44), eep (26\/44), esp (24\/44), ccf (22\/44), and asa (8\/44). Among these, only esp was significantly more prevalent in VRE than in VSE isolates (p &lt; 0.01). VRE isolates showed a significantly higher median virulence gene score compared to VSE isolates (3 [IQR: 2\u20134] vs. 2 [IQR: 2\u20133]; p = 0.028, Mann\u2013Whitney U test). The esp gene was more frequently detected among VRE isolates, while pheromone-associated genes displayed no clear group-specific pattern. Conclusions: Colonizing E. faecalis isolates carried a heterogeneous repertoire of the selected virulence-associated genes, with a higher burden of these genes among VRE isolates. These findings contribute additional data from Eastern Europe on the molecular characteristics of colonizing E. faecalis populations and support further investigation of their epidemiological relevance in healthcare settings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/life16081333","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T11:57:46Z","timestamp":1786708666000},"page":"1333","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Distribution of Virulence and Pheromone-Associated Genes Among Colonizing Enterococcus faecalis Isolates Recovered Through Routine VRE Screening in Cluj-Napoca, Romania"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3930-5920","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dan-Alexandru","family":"Toc","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"},{"name":"Cluj County Emergency Hospital, 400000 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0122-4332","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Matei-Stefan","family":"Dobrescu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babe\u0219-Bolyai University, 1 M. Kogalniceanu Street, 400084 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"},{"name":"Centre for Systems Biology, Biodiversity and Bioresources, Babes-Bolyai University, 5\u20137 Clinicilor Street, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6523-6845","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anca Livia","family":"Butiuc-Keul","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babe\u0219-Bolyai University, 1 M. Kogalniceanu Street, 400084 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"},{"name":"Centre for Systems Biology, Biodiversity and Bioresources, Babes-Bolyai University, 5\u20137 Clinicilor Street, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8881-7688","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alexandru","family":"Botan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"},{"name":"Discipline of Medical Informatics and Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Ha\u021bieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400349 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Irina-Maria","family":"Rusu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"George","family":"Berar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-4427-7450","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bogdan-Valentin","family":"Roznovan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Beata","family":"Dohi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, Iuliu Ha\u021bieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"},{"name":"Regional Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Octavian Fodor, 400162 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dan","family":"V\u0103lean","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, Iuliu Ha\u021bieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"},{"name":"Regional Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Octavian Fodor, 400162 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ioana","family":"Colosi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2640-0072","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carmen","family":"Costache","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"},{"name":"Cluj County Emergency Hospital, 400000 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"629","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(21)02724-0","article-title":"Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: A systematic analysis","volume":"399","author":"Murray","year":"2022","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"266","DOI":"10.1038\/nrmicro2761","article-title":"The rise of the Enterococcus: Beyond vancomycin resistance","volume":"10","author":"Arias","year":"2012","journal-title":"Nat. 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