MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF VIRULENCE, ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE GENES, AND CLASS ONE INTEGRON GENE CASSETTES IN SALMONELLA ENTERICA SUBSP. ENTERICA ISOLATED FROM PET TURTLES IN SEOUL, KOREA

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica is a part of the natural bacterial biota of pet turtles which can opportunistically cause human salmonellosis. In this study, virulence, antimicrobial resistance gene properties, and class 1 integron gene cassettes of 35 S. enterica subsp. enterica strains were investigated. The isolates were identified as S. Pomona (n = 9), S. Paratyphi (n = 7), S. Typhimurium (n = 5), S. Thompson (n = 5), S. Stanley (n = 4), S. Braenderup (n = 2), S. Kentucky (n = 1), S. Singapore (n = 1), and S. Potsdam (n = 1), respectively. By polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of virulence genes, invA and stn genes were detected in every isolate. The fimH and pefA genes were detected in 15 (42.86%) and 14 (40.00%) isolates, respectively. However, none of the isolates harbored fimA and spvC genes. In antimicrobial susceptibility testing, the resistance rates were observed against ampicillin (40.00%), cephalothin (34.00%), streptomycin (20.00%), and chloramphenicol (10.00%). The presence of streptomycin resistance encoding strA-strB gene was found in 12 (40.00%) isolates. Class 1 integron gene cassettes, qacE2 and orfD were identified in 8 (22.86%) strains. The results revealed that pet turtle-borne S. enterica subsp. enterica can harbor a considerable number of virulence, antimicrobial resistance genes, and class 1 integrons represent a potential risk for pet turtle keepers which must not be underestimated.