**4. Conclusions**

In conclusion, acquired resistance to certain antibiotics is an important feature of the genus *Enterococcus*. Persistent use of antibiotics in humans and animals for therapy and as growth promoters plus the presence of insertion sequences, transposons, integerons and plasmids make them large reservoirs of transferable antibiotic resistance and virulence genes in various ecosystems including soil, water, and food. Due to its rapid popularity, as resistant bacteria, ENT serves as an important key indicator in the surveillance of many humans and veterinary resistance profile. Adherence capability plus antibiotic resistance make them more problematic for effective therapeutic decisions. Till now only food consumption is considered as an option for the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria to humans but the detection of resistant bacteria in soil opens a new route for the exposure of environmental antibiotic resistance to humans. Results of different studies from our lab concludes that soil, poultry, animals and birds carried high burdens of ENT which are fully armed with potential virulent and antibiotic resistance genes [107–110]. In Pakistan, there is paucity of information regarding prevalence, types and genetic characteristics of enterococci along with their resistance/virulence genes and clones especially from clinical and other environmental sources. In this respect, regular environmental monitoring using most advance molecular genotyping (**Tables 1** and **2**) as routine testing is recommended. Genes mirror the requirements of life. As our understanding of enterococcal genomics grows, bacterial genomics will become an important tool for providing new insights into the nature, biology and habitats of the enterococci. Presence of insertion sequence (IS16) gene in soil isolates verified the dissemination of hospital associated ENT into the environment via inappropriate handling of hospital wastes [108]. It is therefore also recommended to dispose clinical/hospital waste properly and appropriately.
