Virulence of Enterococcus faecalis and Impact of Genome‐wide approaches

Abstract

Enterococci are well recognized opportunistic pathogens in human and animal infections. Enterococcus faecalis have attracted much attention in recent times due to their increased recognition as an oral infection. The severity of these infections depends on the host immune response and on the presence of virulence factors. Bacterial virulence factors enable a host to replicate and disseminate within a host in part by subverting or eluding host defenses. Application of genomeâ€Âwide approaches has led to the identification of new virulence factors that may serve as targets for new therapies. This review discusses the virulence factors of E. faecalis and impact of genomeâ€Âwide approaches.