Abstract
Salmonella comprises over 2500 serotypes and foodborne contamination associated with this pathogen remains an important health concern worldwide. During the last decade, a shift in serotype prevalence has occurred as traditionally less prevalent serotypes are increasing in frequency of infections, especially those related to poultry meat contamination. S. Infantis is one of the major emerging serotypes, and these strains commonly display antimicrobial resistance and can persist despite cleaning protocols. Thus, this work aimed to isolate S. Infantis strains from a poultry meat farm in Santiago, Chile and to characterize genetic variations present in them. We determined their genomic and phenotypic profiles at different points along the production line. The results indicate that the strains encompass 853 polymorphic sites (core-SNPs) with isolates differing from one another by 0–347 core SNPs, suggesting variation among them; however, we found discrete correlations with the source of the sample in the production line. Furthermore, the pan-genome was composed of 4854 total gene clusters of which 2618 (53.9%) corresponds to the core-genome and only 181 (3.7%) are unique genes (those present in one particular strain). This preliminary analysis will enrich the surveillance of Salmonella, yet further studies are required to assess their evolution and phylogeny.
Highlights
Salmonella enterica is an important etiologic agent of gastroenteritis and enteric fever in a variety of hosts [1]
To characterize the bacterial components that persist along a poultry meat production line (Figure 1), we undertook a microbiological survey and obtained isolates representative of different bacterial genera
We identified 41 Salmonella strains that were classified by serotyping as Salmonella Infantis; these bacteria were distributed in different sampling locations along the production line and were associated with specific sources
Summary
Salmonella enterica is an important etiologic agent of gastroenteritis and enteric fever in a variety of hosts [1]. The disease produced by Salmonella infection, known as salmonellosis, remains one of the most recurrent foodborne zoonosis. It is a significant global health and economic problem, with thousands of cases of severe illness and deaths. The food industry is constantly affected by bacterial contamination of products for human consumption, resulting in costs for surveillance prevention, disease treatment, and the loss of contaminated products [3,4]. The current standard production practices such as high stocking density, larger farms, and stress result in increased occurrence and persistence of bacterial pathogens in flocks, where the main reservoir is the host’s gastrointestinal tract that can, in turn, contaminate a variety of food products [5,6]
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