ISSN 2736-1756
Advanced Journal of Microbiology Research Vol. 2012
Available online at http://internationalscholarsjournals.org/journal/ajmr
© 2012 International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Fate of Salmonella typhimurium on rosemary and barley grown in fields treated with contaminated irrigation water
Dhiaf Amel1 and Bakhrouf Amina2
1Cabinet Dr Allaya. Ouled Salah 5116. Ksour Essef. Tunisia.
2Laboratoire de Recherche en Microbiologie et Santé. Hôpital de circonscription de Ksour Essef. 5180. Tunisia.
Accepted 27 March, 2012
Abstract
Animal wastes in the form of manure frequently contain enteric pathogenic microorganisms and land spreading can lead to pathogen entry into the food chain. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine the persistence of Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium in soil, and on barley and rosemary plants. We observed that Salmonella typhimurium persisted for an extended period of time (203 to 231 days), and could be detected on infected vegetative parts of the rosemary and barley plants even after desiccation. After approximately two months, the colony morphology displayed a mucoid and rugose phenotype. Smooth colony morphology was acquired following incubation in nutrient broth and upon isolation from the digestive tracts of mice that had been challenged orally with stressed S. typhimurium. S. typhimurium was neither isolated from vegetative parts formed after plant contamination, nor from barley seeds and rosemary flowers.
Keywords: Salmonella, soil, rosemary, barley, contamination.