الفهرس 
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Abstract
Enterococci are one of the mostimportant nosocomial pathogens. They can be found on almost everything that surrounds human beings including foodstuffsand from sources associated with low hygienic conditions.
Enterococci in foods may act as reservoirsfor antibiotic resistance genes, and thus there is a need for finding methods to screen for their presence and reduce theopportunities for their spread.
Theability to acquire genes encoding antibiotic resistance combinedwith a natural resistance to various antimicrobialagents and to extreme environmental conditions such as low pH, highsalinity and high temperatures makethese bacteria exceptionalsurvivors.
Therefore, the aim of the present study was to throw a glimmer of light on considerable sequence heterogeneity among the enterococcal surface protein(esp) gene ofmolecularly identified multidrug resistant Enterococcus faecalisisolates from different sources.
In the present work, a total of 91enterococci isolateswere recovered from 140 different samples collected from various sources (mastitis cow milk,yoghurt, cheese,chicken intestine, chicken crop,edible chicken offals, chicken pane and human urine).
Conventional methods for isolation and identification of enterococci isolates from different sources showed that enterococci appeared pink to dark red colonies on Slanetz and Bartley agar medium. It appeared as Gram-positive ovoid cocci and arranged mostly in pairs or in short chains.