Molecular Diagnosis of Enterococcus faecium Causing Septicemia based on the sodA Gene and Testing the Antibacterial Effect of Papaver rhoeas Alkaloids against It

Background: Enterococcus faecium has developed resistance to multiple antibiotics and utilizes colonization and secretion factors to enhance its virulence. The sodA gene is a superoxide dismutase that is essential for bacterial survival in the presence of oxygen and reactive oxygen species. It is a useful target for distinguishing E. faecium from other Enterococcus species. Papaver rhoeas is a distinctive plant of the Syrian flora, and its spread is limited to certain areas In this study, we started with typing E. faecium based on the gene, and verified the role of alkaloids of papaver rhoeas as important antibacterial in the future. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from the University Children’s Hospital between February and May 2023, in coordination with the hospital’s Bacteriological Diagnostic Laboratory, and were cultured directly in a liquid culture medium. The patient’s name, department, and sample collection date were recorded. E. faecium was then diagnosed using the sodA gene using the MultiplexPCR reaction for a group of Enterococcus sp. species causing sepsis. The response of E. faecium to antibiotic treatment was then determined, and the alkaloids of P. rhoeas were finally applied as a future treatment for enterococcal septicemia. Result: The study confirmed the significant contribution of E. faecium in causing hospital-acquired sepsis in children, its possession of the sodA gene, and the great, rapid, and accurate benefit in diagnosing this bacterium based on this gene and the rapid determination of genus and species in a single reaction. The E. faecium isolates recorded almost complete resistance to 11 antibiotics except for vancomycin with an inhibition aura diameter of 14.16 mm, while the methanolic extract of wild P. rhoeas spread in Damascus and its countryside recorded great effectiveness, especially the fruit extract, then the petals, and finally the stem (20, 14, and 8.9 mm), followed by the soaking and boiling extract (25, 8, and 10 mm), and finally the methanolic acidified water extract, with very little or almost no effectiveness for the stem and petal extract. Conclusions: E. faecium is an important cause of neonatal sepsis in Damascus. The infecting strain carries the sodA gene, an important virulence factor that enables E. faecium to colonize and form biofilms, thus transmitting and causing infection. This has contributed to the development of multidrug resistance in this bacterium. However, P. rhoeas , especially the methanolic fruit extract, has proven to be an important agent against E. faecium . The study confirmed the widespread distribution of this medically important plant in large quantities in areas of Damascus city and its countryside, and it constitutes a promising future compound as an antibacterial against septicemia.