Whole-Genome Sequencing Analysis of Salmonella enterica Serovar Enteritidis Isolates in Chile Provides Insights into Possible Transmission between Gulls, Poultry, and Humans
ABSTRACTSalmonella entericasubsp.entericaserotype Enteritidis is a major cause of human salmonellosis worldwide; however, little is known about the genetic relationships betweenS. Enteritidis clinical strains andS. Enteritidis strains from other sources in Chile. We compared the whole genomes of 30S. Enteritidis strains isolated from gulls, domestic chicken eggs, and humans in Chile, to investigate their phylogenetic relationships and to establish their relatedness to international strains. Core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) analysis showed that only 246/4,065 shared loci differed among these Chilean strains, separating them into two clusters (I and II), with cluster II being further divided into five subclusters. One subcluster (subcluster 2) contained strains from all surveyed sources that differed at 1 to 18 loci (of 4,065 loci) with 1 to 18 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), suggesting interspecies transmission ofS. Enteritidis in Chile. Moreover, clusters were formed by strains that were distant geographically, which could imply that gulls might be spreading the pathogen throughout the country. Our cgMLST analysis, using otherS. Enteritidis genomes available in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database, showed thatS. Enteritidis strains from Chile and the United States belonged to different lineages, which suggests thatS. Enteritidis regional markers might exist and could be used for trace-back investigations.IMPORTANCEThis study highlights the importance of gulls in the spread ofSalmonellaEnteritidis in Chile. We revealed a close genetic relationship between some human and gullS. Enteritidis strains (with as few as 2 of 4,065 genes being different), and we also found that gull strains were present in clusters formed by strains isolated from other sources or distant locations. Together with previously published evidence, this suggests that gulls might be spreading this pathogen between different regions in Chile and that some of those strains have been transmitted to humans. Moreover, we discovered that ChileanS. Enteritidis strains clustered separately from most ofS. Enteritidis strains isolated throughout the world (in the GenBank database) and thus it might be possible to distinguish the geographical origins of strains based on specific genomic features. This could be useful for trace-back investigations of foodborne illnesses throughout the world.