Complete Genome of Linezolid-Resistant <i>Enterococcus faecium</i> Strain VC-022 Isolated from Retail Red Leaf Lettuce

Enterococcus faecium is a ubiquitous Gram-positive bacterium that inhabits the gastrointestinal tracts of humans and animals.It has been recognized as a major opportunistic pathogen globally [1].The increasing prevalence of strains showing multidrug resistance, including linezolid resistance, poses a serious threat to clinical treatment and public health [2].E. faecium and other enterococci are also frequently detected in various food products, including vegetables and meats, suggesting their potential role as vehicles for antimicrobial resistance dissemination through the food chain [3,4].E. faecium strain VC-022 was isolated from retail red leaf lettuce purchased from a grocery store in Republic of Korea.According to the Korean Food Code, the Glove-Juice method was employed to detach and recover E. faecium from the surface of retail red leaf lettuce [5].Briefly, 25 g of lettuce samples were placed in sterile zipper bags containing 225 ml of buffered peptone water (BPW; BD Difco, USA) and homogenized for 1 min.The suspension was incubated at 37 for 20 h on BPW medium and 1 ml of the culture was inoculated into Enterococcosel broth (BD Biosciences, USA), followed by incubation at 37 for 24 h.A loopful of the broth culture was streaked onto Enterococcosel agar (BD Difco) plates and incubated at 37 for at least 24 h.Colonies exhibiting typical Enterococcus-like characteristics were isolated and subsequently identified by PCR of a housekeeping gene, gdh, with the following primers: forward 5-GGCGCACTAAAAGATATGGT-3 and reverse 5-CCAAGATTGGGCAACTTCGTCCCA-3.Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) identified isolate VC-022 as a sequence type 296 based on the E. faecium scheme available on the PubMLST database (https://pubmlst.org/organisms/enterococcus-faecium).Antimicrobial susceptibility was assessed by broth microdilution according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines [6].Strain VC-Linezolid-resistant Enterococcus faecium VC-022 was isolated from retail red leaf lettuce in the Republic of Korea.The genome comprised one chromosome (2,449,352 bp with 38.4% GC content) and one plasmid (189,227 bp with 35.6% GC content).Genome annotation identified 2,374 protein-coding sequences (CDSs), 18 rRNA genes, and 66 tRNA genes on the chromosome.The plasmid contained 200 CDSs with one tRNA gene.The isolate harbored multiple antimicrobial resistance genes, including aac(6)-Ii, ant(6)-Ia, erm(A), erm(B), narA, narB, fexA, and optrA.These determinants confer resistance to linezolid, aminoglycosides, streptomycin, macrolides, lincosamides, streptogramins, ionophores, and phenicols.