Siju, Varghese M; Dr.Sarita,Bhat G(Cochin University of Science And Technology, October 11, 2013)
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Abstract:
The primary habitat of Salmonella is the gastrointestinal tract of
animals and they are discharged into the water bodies through the feces.
Aquatic animals act as asymptomatic reservoirs of a wide range of Salmonella
serotypes. The inevitable delay in the detection of Salmonella contamination
and the low sensitivity of the conventional methods is a serious issue in the
seafood industry. Due to the indiscriminate use, the antibiotics are finally
accumulated in the aquatic environment which provides the required antibiotic
stress for the emergence of more and more antibiotic resistant phenotypes ofSalmonella. Several genetic determinants like integrons, genomic islands etc.
play their role in acquisition and reshuffling of antibiotic resistance genes. A
large number of virulence determinants are required for Salmonella
pathogenicity. The virulence potential of Salmonella is determined, to some
extent, by the presence of phages or phage mediated genes in the bacterial
genome. There is much intra-serotype polymorphism in Salmonella and
epidemiological studies rely on genetic resemblance of the isolated strains.
Proper identification of the strain employing the traditional and molecular
techniques is a prerequisite for accurate epidemiological studies (Soto et al.,
2000).
In this context, a study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of
different Salmonella serotypes in seafood and to characterize them
Description:
Microbial Genetics Laboratory
Department of Biotechnology
Cochin University of Science and Technology