Characterization of Enterococcus Strains Contained in Probiotic Products

Probiotics are additives containing live microbes that beneficially affect a host by improving the properties of the host intestinal microflora. Recently, advances in medical treatments have led to increased numbers of immunocompromised patients; some patients contract opportunistic infections of Enterococcus species, which are considered non-pathogenic bacteria. To evaluate the safety of probiotics containing Enterococcus strains, we isolated Enterococcus from six probiotic products and compared the pathogenic genes and antimicrobial susceptibility of the probiotic strains to those of clinical isolates. Our study showed that all Enterococcus strains contained in probiotic products were E. faecium, and no vancomycin-resistant strains were found. In addition, no pathogenic genes, such as ace, agg, gelE, cylM, cylB, cylA, cpd, cob, ccf, efaAfs, efaAfm, espfs, or espfm, were found in the probiotic strains. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis showed obvious genetic differences between the probiotic strains and the clinical isolates. The data suggested that the probiotic Enterococcus strains were not transmitted to hospitalized patients. Therefore, our results strongly suggest that probiotic products are unlikely agents for causing opportunistic infections.