Enterococcus gallinarum is a species of
Enterococcus.
E. gallinarum demonstrates an inherent, low-level resistance to
vancomycin. Resistance is due to a chromosomal gene, vanC, which encodes for a terminal D-alanine-D-serine instead of the usual D-alanine-D-alanine in
cell wall peptidoglycan precursor proteins. That is a separate mechanism than the vancomycin resistance seen in
VRE isolates of
e. faecium and
e. faecalis which is mediated by vanA or vanB. This species is known to cause clusters of infection, although it considered very rare. It is the only other known enterococcal species besides
e. faecium and
e. faecalis known to cause outbreaks and
spread in hospitals.