TRS-based PCR as a potential tool for inter-serovar discrimination of Salmonella Enteritidis, S. Typhimurium, S. Infantis, S. Virchow, S. Hadar, S. Newport and S. Anatum

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica comprises a number of serovars, many of which pose an epidemiological threat to humans and are a worldwide cause of morbidity and mortality. Most reported food infection outbreaks involve the serovars Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium. Rapid identification to determine the primary sources of the bacterial contamination is important to the improvement of public health. In recent years, many DNA-based techniques have been applied to genotype Salmonella. Herein, we report the use of a manual TRS-PCR approach for the differentiation of the Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovars in a single-tube assay. One hundred seventy Salmonella strains were examined in this work. These consisted of serovars S. Enteritidis, S. Typhimurium, S. Infantis, S. Virchow, S. Hadar, S. Newport and S. Anatum. Five of the TRS-primers, N(6)(GTG)(4), N(6)(CAC)(4), N(6)(CGG)(4), N(6)(CCG)(4) and N(6)(CTG)(4), perfectly distinguished the S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium serovars, and the N(6)(GTG)(4) primer additionally grouped the other five frequently isolated serovars. In our opinion, the TRS-PCR methodology could be recommended for a quick and simple DNA-based test for inter-serovar discrimination of Salmonella strains.