Abstract

Salmonella infection is a critical veterinary and medical problem worldwide and is a major issue in the food industry. Non-typhoidal Salmonella is known as an important pathogen causing gastroenteritis. The Outer Membrane Proteins (OMPs) of Gram negative bacteria are significant for virulence, host immune responses and drug therapy targets. Enhanced diagnosis of live poultry colonized with Salmonella species is required to avoid foodborne diseases. The present study was based on molecular characterization of OMPs among four Salmonella serovars (S. Typhimurium, S. Enteritidis, S. Kentucky and S. Anatum) using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The OMPs profiling showed more than 70 protein bands ranged in size from 208 kDa to below 16 kDa which were detected using Total Lab 1D 12.2 software. All Salmonella strains had a band at 54-60 kDa, 45-53 kDa, 36-39 kDa and 26-31 kDa. Eleven strains exhibited a band at 41-46 kDa and 33-35 kDa. Nine strains had a band at 61-69 kDa. Eight strains exhibited a band at 135-145 kDa and 72-79 kDa. Seven strains had a band at 108-123 kDa and 83-91 kDa. In the Western blot analysis, the prepared hyperimmune anti serum of each Salmonella serovars reacted with the 35 kDa protein band. It is concluded that the identification of novel immunogenic proteins would be useful in developing ELISA-based diagnostic assays with a higher specificity.