Distribution of the antiseptic-resistance gene qacEΔ1 in Gram-positive bacteria

The distribution of the antiseptic-resistance genes qacE and qacE Delta 1, originally isolated from Gram-negative bacteria, was studied in a large number of Gram-positive bacteria by a method that included the polymerase chain reaction. A total of 151 strains of Staphylococcus and Enterococcus, isolated from clinical sources and obtained from the Japanese Collection of Microorganisms, was used in this analysis. We found the qacE Delta I gene in 36 of 103 strains of Staphylococcus and in nine of 48 strains of Enterococcus. All of the strains in which we detected the qacE Delta 1 gene were clinical isolates. The qacE gene was not detected in any of the strains examined in this study. The nucleotide sequences of the qacE Delta 1 genes from the strains of Staphylococcus and Enterococcus were identical to that of the gene located on integron InC in Pseudomonas nei aeruginosa. These results indicate that the antiseptic-resistance gene qacE Delta 1 is present in Gram-positive, as well as Gram-negative, bacteria. (C) 1998 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.