A multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica Typhimurium DT104 complex lineage circulating among humans and cattle in the USA lost the ability to produce pertussis-like toxin ArtAB

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serotype Typhimurium definitive type 104 (DT104) can infect both humans and animals and is often multidrug-resistant (MDR). Previous studies have indicated that, unlike most S. Typhimurium, the overwhelming majority of DT104 strains produce pertussis-like toxin ArtAB via prophage-encoded genes artAB. However, DT104 that lack artAB have been described on occasion. Here, we identify an MDR DT104 complex lineage circulating among humans and cattle in the USA, which lacks artAB (i.e. the ‘U.S. artAB-negative major clade’; n=42 genomes). Unlike most other bovine- and human-associated DT104 complex strains from the USA (n=230 total genomes), which harbour artAB on prophage Gifsy-1 (n=177), members of the U.S. artAB-negative major clade lack Gifsy-1, as well as anti-inflammatory effector gogB. The U.S. artAB-negative major clade encompasses human- and cattle-associated strains isolated from ≥11 USA states over a 20-year period. The clade was predicted to have lost artAB, Gifsy-1 and gogB circa 1985–1987 (95 % highest posterior density interval 1979.0–1992.1). When compared to DT104 genomes from other regions of the world (n=752 total genomes), several additional, sporadic artAB, Gifsy-1 and/or gogB loss events among clades encompassing five or fewer genomes were observed. Using phenotypic assays that simulate conditions encountered during human and/or bovine digestion, members of the U.S. artAB-negative major clade did not differ from closely related Gifsy-1/artAB/gogB-harbouring U.S. DT104 complex strains (ANOVA raw P>0.05); thus, future research is needed to elucidate the roles that artAB, gogB and Gifsy-1 play in DT104 virulence in humans and animals.