Identification of fliC and flagella expression in Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar Gallinarum biovar gallinarum

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica ser. Gallinarum biovar. gallinarum (S. gallinarum) is the causative agent of fowl Typhoid, a bacterial disease that affects domestic and wild birds. For many years, S. gallinarum was defined as an aflagellated bacterium, that is, non-motile. However, the closely related strain Salmonella pullorum is capable of expressing a flagellum-like filament. Since these bacteria are practically identical, it was determined if S. gallinarum expresses flagellum-like filament under different culture conditions in order to increase the basic knowledge of this bacterium. The motility of S. gallinarum was evaluated in different culture media (GI, S and nutrient media), and visualized the bacterial filaments using electron microscopy. fliC was identified in some of the studied strains; subsequently, sequencing analysis of fliC gene shown 98% of identity with that in S. Typhimurium. In the present study, the presence of a flagellum-like structure was demonstrate in different strains of S. gallinarum using electron microscopy. In addition, the fliC gene was amplified, which allowed us to suggest that this bacterium is capable to shows a flagellum under certain culture conditions, similar to that reported for S. pullorum.