Abstract:
Salmonella is considered to be one of the most important causal agents of food borne illness
throughout the world. The ability of Salmonella to resist stress and survive under adverse
conditions can vary between strains. This work examines the contribution of variable
phenotypic properties to survival under mild and severe stress and how these are linked with
genetic and functional variability of rpoS gene and RpoS status respectively in representative
serovars of Salmonella enterica commonly associated with foodborne illness. The test strains
were Salmonella serovars Anatum, Enteritidis (466), Enteritidis (496), Hadar, Heidelberg,
Montevideo, Newport and Virchow and two Typhimurium strains previously characterised as
either RpoS-positive or RpoS-negative.
