الفهرس 
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Abstract
Enterococci are widely distributed bacteria that are incriminated
in various clinical conditions in humans and economic losses in
fish farms. The aim of this study was to recognize Enterococcus
sp. and their virulence from diseased Nile tilapia and humans, and
assess the accuracy of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization
time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) in
recognizing Enterococcus species. Septicemic farmed O.
niloticus (n=70) and human blood, urine, and pus samples (n=45),
were collected from Sharkia Governorate and Suez Canal
University Hospital, Ismailia, Egypt, respectively. Samples were
tested bacteriologically and molecularly for identification of
Enterococcus sp.; moreover, carriage of virulence genes by the
isolates had been evaluated. Proteomic (MALDI-TOF MS) was
also used to assess its ability to identify Enterococcus sp. in
comparison to conventional PCR technique. Overall,
Enterococcus sp. was identified in Nile tilapia (32.9%) and
human samples (28.9%). Two species of enterococci; E. faecalis
and E. faecium, were identified with E. faecalis was the most
prevalent species in both fish and human samples. High
occurrence of four virulence genes (gelE) (86.1%), (cylA)
(86.1%), (asa1) (77.8%), (esp) (72.2%) had been detected in
Enterococcus sp. isolates, however, (hyl) (19.4%) was the lowest.
Using MALDI-TOF MS, five of ten examined isolates were
identified as Enterococcus sp., however, all isolates were
confirmed to be Enterococcus using conventional PCR. The study
confirmed that PCR is the most accurate method for identification
of Enterococcus sp. and using MALDI-TOF MS as the only
identification method is not advisable.