ABSTRACT
Salmonella is the genus name for a bacterium that is responsible for causing illness worldwide. Species in the genus Salmonella are categorized as facultatively anaerobic Gram-negative rods within the family Enterobacteriaceae. Most Salmonella are able to move (are motile) using peritrichous flagella distributed uniformly over the surface of each bacterial cell (Figure 1.1), except for S. pullorum and S. gallinarum, which do not possess flagella (Holt et al., 1994). Salmonella species grow best at
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temperatures between 35°C and 42°C. For comparison, human body temperature is 37°C and a chicken’s body temperature is 41.8°C, both well within the optimal temperature range of growth for Salmonella. ’e maximum growth temperature for Salmonella is 46.96°C (116.53°F; Juneja et al., 2009). ’us, Salmonella grow well in the intestines of both humans and poultry species. Salmonella are able to ferment carbohydrates into by-products such as acid and gas, and they use citrate as their sole carbon source. Salmonella produce H2S as a by-product, do not produce the enzyme oxidase, and are able to produce the enzyme catalase (Lund et al., 2000).
