CRISPR Elements and Their Association with Macrolide and Aminoglycoside Resistance Genes in Enterococci.

CRISPR-Cas (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-CRISPR associated) systems are common among enterococci and may prevent the acquisition of mobile genetic elements carrying antimicrobial resistance genes. In this study, we correlate the presence of CRISPR with genes associated with macrolide resistance and high-level resistance to aminoglycosides (HLR-A) among 216 and 82 isolates. We used PCR to detect genes associated with macrolide resistance, HLR-A, and type II-A CRISPR elements.