Design of Species-Specific PCR Primers That Target the aac(6′)-Ii Gene for the Rapid Detection of Enterococcus faecium

In this study, we used the sequence of the aac(6′)-Ii gene, which is responsible for the intrinsic low-level aminoglycoside resistance of Enterococcus faecium, to design novel species-specific primers. Two oligonucleotide pairs named EF_200 and EF_120 were designed, generating amplification products with sizes of 200 bp and 120 bp, respectively. They were successfully applied for the identification of various isolates of clinical or environmental origins in both pure cultures and complex food samples. The obtained results indicated that both primer pairs permitted the highly specific, simple, fast and inexpensive detection of E. faecium isolates.