Characterization of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strains of veterinary origin by molecular typing methods.

Twenty-eight strains of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium were characterized by three PCR-based methods. Ten strains harbored type I integrons and two different integron profiles were detected. Typing by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) resulted in observation of 10 profiles that differed by one to six bands. Salmonella strains were screened for presence of phage genes using a PCR-phage typing; five genes from P22 phage and genes encoding putative virulence factors from phages Gifsy-1, Gifsy-2 and Fels-1 were selected for testing. This set of genes was sufficient for dividing the strains into eight different PCR-phage profiles. Similar grouping of strains was observed in case of all the employed DNA techniques and they corresponded well with the phage type and antimicrobial resistance of the strains. The highest discriminating power was achieved with use of the AFLP, yet the detection of integrons and PCR-phage typing also proved to be valuable in typing the S. Typhimurium strains.