Detection Strategies for Foodborne Salmonella and Prospects for Utilization of Whole Genome Sequencing Approaches

Among the foodborne pathogenic bacteria, Salmonella genus was the leading cause of illness-related hospitalizations and deaths. Salmonella is a facultative anaerobic, gram-negative, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium that belongs to the family of Enterobacteriaceae. Salmonellosis caused by Salmonella usually continues 4-7. days based on health conditions of individuals along with diarrhea, fever, nausea, and abdominal cramps ranging from 12 to 72. h after infection. To prevent and detect Salmonella contaminations in foods, several types of detection methods have been adopted and evaluated. Although traditional culture-based methods have advantages such as low cost and less expensive instrumentation for detection of viable Salmonella strains in foods, they can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. In contrast, molecular-based (DNA or RNA) detection methods exhibit high sensitivity, accuracy than any other method. In this chapter, molecular-based methodologies including several types of polymerase chain reaction assays and whole genome sequencing involving next-generation sequencing platforms will be discussed.