The Yersinia high pathogenicity island is present in Salmonella enterica Subspecies I isolated from turkeys

The Yersinia high pathogenicity island (HPI) encodes a yersiniabactin-mediated iron acquisition system present in highly pathogenic strains of Yersinia and several members of the Enterobacteriaceae. In this study, 420 salmonellae representing multiple serovars recovered from diverse hosts were investigated for the presence of the HPI. The isolates were initially screened via PCR with primers specific for irp2, a conserved gene involved in yersiniabactin biosynthesis. Seventeen isolates produced an amplicon of the expected size. These isolates were further investigated using PCR primers spanning the HPI core region and all isolates produced identical results. HPI-positive isolates were recovered only from turkeys (feces) or production samples (feed and water) from a single flock and identified as Salmonella enterica serovar Senftenberg, a Subspecies I. Southern hybridization and genome sequencing of isolate 3-70-31 revealed that the island is plasmid-borne and is 92-97% identical to the core region in Yersinia species. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the HPI in Salmonella Subspecies I. This study illustrates the presence of the HPI in a new species, and the continued importance of poultry as a reservoir and vehicle for the dissemination of zoonotic pathogens.