Genomic diversity and resistome profiles of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Kentucky isolated from food and animal sources in Ireland

Abstract Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Kentucky is frequently isolated from poultry, dairy and beef cattle, the environment and people with clinical salmonellosis globally. However, the sources of this serovar and its diversity and antimicrobial resistance capacities remain poorly described in many regions. To further understand the genetic diversity and antimicrobial sensitivity patterns among S . Kentucky strains isolated from non‐human sources in Ireland, we sequenced and analysed the genomes of 61 isolates collected from avian, bovine, canine, ovine, piscine, porcine, environmental and vegetation sources between 2000 and 2016. The majority of isolates ( n = 57, 93%) were sequence type (ST) 314, while only three isolates were ST198 and one was ST152. Several isolates were multidrug‐resistant (MDR) and 14 carried at least one acquired antimicrobial resistance gene. When compared to a database of publicly available ST314, four distinct clades were identified (clades I–IV), with the majority of isolates from Ireland clustering together in Clade I. Two of the three ST198 isolates were characteristic of those originating outside of the Americas (Clade ST198.2), while one was distantly clustered with isolates from South and North America (Clade ST198.1). The genomes of the two clade ST198.2 isolates encoded Salmonella Genomic Island 1 (SGI1), were multidrug‐resistant and encoded polymorphisms in the DNA gyrase ( gyrA ) and DNA topoisomerase ( parC ) known to confer resistance to fluoroquinolones. The single ST152 isolate was from raw beef, clustered with isolates from food and bovine sources in North America and was pan‐susceptible. Results of this study indicate that most S . Kentucky isolates from non‐human sources in Ireland are closely related ST314 and only a few isolates are antimicrobial‐resistant. This study also demonstrates the presence of multidrug‐resistant ST198 in food sources in Ireland.