Association of CRISPR-Cas System with the Antibiotic Resistance and Virulence Genes in Nosocomial Isolates of Enterococcus

Abstract

In conclusion, the results indicated that the absence of the CRISPR-Cas system was negatively associated with some antibiotic resistance in clinical isolates of <i>Enterococcus faecalis</i> and <i>Enterococcus faecium</i>. Also, there was a negative correlation with the carriage of antibiotic resistance genes. Furthermore, CRISPR-Cas may prevent some isolates from acquiring certain virulence factors.