Comparative Physical and Genetic Maps of the Virulence Plasmids of Salmonella enterica Serovars Typhimurium, Enteritidis, Choleraesuis, and Dublin

Using fragment profiling, PCR, and Southern hybridization, we found that Salmonella enterica serovar Choleraesuis harbored virulence plasmids of various sizes, whereas serovars Typhimurium, Enteritidis, and Dublin carried a plasmid of a unique size. Also, the virulence plasmid of Typhimurium contained genes in the same order detected in the other three plasmids, all of which contained deletions.