Enterococci are robust gram-positive bacteria that are found in a variety of surroundings and that cause a significant number of healthcare-associated infections. The genus possesses a high-efficiency pheromone-responsive plasmid (PRP) transfer system for genetic exchange that allows antimicrobial-resistance determinants to spread within bacterial populations. The pCF10 plasmid system is the best characterised, and although other PRP systems are structurally similar, they lack exact functional homologues of pCF10-encoded genes. In this review, we provide an overview of the enterococcal PRP systems, incorporating functional details for the less-well-defined systems. We catalogue the virulence-associated elements of the PRPs that have been identified to date, and we argue that this reinforces the requirement for elucidation of the less studied systems.

肠球菌是坚固的革兰氏阳性细菌，可在各种环境中发现，并引起大量与医疗保健相关的感染。该属拥有高效的信息素响应质粒（PRP）转移系统，可进行遗传交换，从而使抗微生物耐药性决定簇在细菌种群中扩散。pCF10质粒系统的特征最为明显，尽管其他PRP系统在结构上相似，但它们缺少pCF10编码基因的确切功能同源物。在这篇综述中，我们提供了肠球菌PRP系统的概述，并结合了定义欠佳的系统的功能细节。我们对迄今已确定的PRP的与毒力相关的要素进行分类，