| Species/Subspecies: | Enterococcus faecalis | ||||||||
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| Etymology: | Genus name: Cocci (grains or berries) of the intestine. Species epithet: related to feces. | ||||||||
| Significance: | [Important] | ||||||||
| Alternative Species Name(s): | Streptococcus faecalis | ||||||||
| Taxonomy: | Class Bacilli Order Lactobacillales Family Enterococcaceae Genus Enterococcus |
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| Type Strain: | ATCC 19433 and 19433-U = CCUG 19916 = NCTC 775 | ||||||||
| Macromorphology (smell):
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| Micromorphology: | Non-motile cocci. However, some strains are motile. | ||||||||
| Gram +/Gram -: | G+ | ||||||||
| Metabolism: | Facultatively anaerobic | ||||||||
| Catalase/Oxidase: | -/? | ||||||||
| Other Enzymes: | Esculinase +, α-galactosidase -, β-galactosidase -, hippuricase (+). | ||||||||
| Biochemical Tests: | Citrate - | ||||||||
| Fermentation of carbohydrates: | D-glucose + lactose + maltose + L-rhamnose v sucrose + L-arabinose - cellobiose + D-mannitol + salicin ? trehalose + glycerol + inulin - raffinose - D-sorbitol v starch v |
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| Spec. Char.: | E. faecalis can grow in the presence of bile salts. | ||||||||
| Special Media:
| E. faecalis can be cultivated on purple agar and ferments lactose under acid production (see Fig. 124:3). Slanetz and Bartley medium is used for enumeration of bacteria within the genus Enterococcus (see Fig. 124:4). | ||||||||
| Disease: | Opportunistic infections |
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| Hosts: | Different animal species | ||||||||
| Clinical Picture: | |||||||||
| Genome Sequence: |
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| 16S rRNA Seq.: |
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| Taxonomy/phylogeny:
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About 50 species have been described within the genus Streptococcus. Many species within the genus Enterococcus have earlier been classified as streptococci and, thus, they are closely related.E. faecalis and E. faecium as well as E. avium are rather closely related. | ||||||||
| Comment: | E. faecalis is type species of the genus. Colonize the intestine and can transfer antibiotic resistance to more pathogenic species. Some strains are used as probioticum. | ||||||||
| Updated: | 2023-03-08 |