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Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Veterinary bacteriology: information about important bacteria
Veterinary bacteriology


Species/Subspecies: Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica
Categories: Zoonotic; motile; notifiable diseases and bacteria
Etymology: Genus name: named after the American bacteriologist D. E. Salmon.
Species epithet: of the gut
Subspecies epithet: see Species epithet.
Significance:  [Very important]   
Alternative Species Name(s):Salmonella choleraesuis subsp. choleraesuis
Taxonomy:
Phylum
Pseudomonadota
Class
Gammaproteobacteria
Order
Enterobacterales
Family
Enterobacteriaceae 
Genus
Salmonella
Type Strain: LT2 (serovar Typhimurium) = ATCC 43971 = NCTC 12416.
Macromorphology (smell):
Salmonella enterica  Salmonella enterica  Salmonella enterica  
Medium sized greyish colonies (2-4 mm in diameter).
Micromorphology: Motile rods (0.7-1.5 x 2.0-5.0 µm) with peritrichous flagella
Gram +/Gram -:
Salmonella enterica  
G-
Metabolism: Facultatively anaerobic
Catalase/Oxidase:+/-
Other Enzymes: Ornithine decarboxylase +, tryptophanase - (= indol -), urease -
Biochemical Tests: Citrate +
Fermentation of carbohydrates:
D-glucose
+
lactose
-
maltose
+
L-rhamnose
+
sucrose
-
L-arabinose
+
cellobiose
-
D-mannitol
+
salicin
-
trehalose
+
glycerol
-
inulin
?
raffinose
-
D-sorbitol
+
starch
?
Other carbohydrates: Dulcitol +. Cf. subsp. arizonae. Sorbose phosphate -. Ferments glucose under production of gas and acid.
Spec. Char.: Many serovars of S. enterica subsp. enterica can form a polysaccharide capsule, which is called the Vi antigen.
Special Media:
Salmonella enterica  Salmonella enterica  Salmonella enterica  
Salmonella enterica  Salmonella enterica  Salmonella enterica  
BG agar, MSRV agar and XLD agar are often used for S. enterica subsp. enterica. As fluid medium, BPW and RVS broth are used.
Disease:Human gastroenteritis (salmonellosis)
Hosts: The serovars Typhimurium and Enteritidis are common in many different species (including humans). Serovar Dublin is often found in cattle. The serovars Choleraesuis and Derby are particularly associated with pigs. The serovars Livingstone, Gallinarum and Pullorum are associated to poultry. Serovar Diarizonae is associated to sheep.

Typhoid fever and Paratyroid fever in humans are caused by the serovar Typhi and Paratyphi, respectively, which are invasive and can cause serious systemic infections in humans. Serovar Typhi has only been detected in humans, while serovar Paratyphi has also been detected in some other animals.

A compilation of some frequently occurring serovars and their most common hosts can be found in the Term List under Salmonella serovars.

Clinical Picture: Diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and fever.
Genome Sequence:
Acc-noStrainSize (bp)Genome
NC_006905 SC-B67 (Serovar Choleraesuis) 4 755 700 1c + 2l 

16S rRNA Seq.:
Acc-noStrainNumber of NTOperon
X80681 ATCC 13311 1540 

Taxonomy/phylogeny:
Salmonella enterica  
Two species have been described within genus Salmonella. S. enterica belongs to the family Enterobacteriaceae and is closely related to members of the genera Escherichia and Shigella. In fact, all members of these three genera Shigella form a monophyletic cluster (see Fig. 70:11 to the left).
Legislation: Salmonella infections are zoonotic, notifiable in Sweden and some of them are regulated by the law of zoonosis. S. enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhi, belongs to category B, as possible biological weapon according to NIAID
Comment:There are at least 2600 different serovars of S. enterica subsp. enterica.
Reference(s): No. 118
Link: Salmonella nomenclature
Updated:2023-03-29

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