Virulence factors of Salmonella spp. isolated from free‐living grass snakes Natrix natrix

Abstract Salmonellosis associated with reptiles is a well‐researched topic, particularly in China and the United States, but it occurs less frequently in Europe. The growth of the human population and changes in the environment could potentially increase the interaction between humans and free‐living reptiles, which are an unidentified source of Salmonella species. In this study, we sought to explore this issue by comparing the microbiota of free‐living European grass snakes, scientifically known as Natrix natrix , with that of captive banded water snakes, or Nerodia fasciata . We were able to isolate 27 strains of Salmonella species from cloacal swabs of 59 N. natrix and 3 strains from 10 N. fasciata . Our findings revealed that free‐living snakes can carry strains of Salmonella species that are resistant to normal human serum (NHS). In contrast, all the Salmonella species strains isolated from N. fasciata were sensitive to the action of the NHS, further supporting our findings. We identified two serovars from N. natrix : Salmonella enterica subspecies diarizonae and S. enterica subspecies houtenae . Additionally, we identified three different virulotypes (VT) with invA , sipB , prgH , orgA , tolC , iroN , sitC , sifA , sopB , spiA , cdtB and msgA genes, and β‐galactosidase synthesised by 23 serovars. The identification of Salmonella species in terms of their VT is a relatively unknown aspect of their pathology. This can be specific to the serovar and pathovar and could be a result of adaptation to a new host or environment.