Behavior of Salmonella, a Zoonotic Pathogen, in Plant Hosts

Abstract

Salmonella is known as one of the main factors of food-borne gastroenteritis, and with this feature, it poses a great risk in terms of public health and economic losses. It is estimated that of the approximately 94 million cases of salmonellosis occurring in the world each year (about 85 percent of these are food-borne), an average of 150,000 result in death. Current social trends highlight the important health benefits of fresh produce in our daily diet. As an irony; Uncooked consumption of fresh herbal products is increasingly identified as a source of transmission for pathogens of intestinal origin, and epidemics occurring in this way are spreading rapidly. Today, the frequency of anthropogenic pathogen outbreaks associated with fresh produce, spices, and nuts has surpassed those associated with foods of animal origin. Human pathogens in the production chain; It can be transferred to plant material by basic means such as the use of animal manure, contaminated irrigation water, biological vectors (insects and animals) and contaminated seeds. In the light of these data, many intestinal pathogens have been identified as phyllo sphere-associated bacteria. Despite all these findings, there are many unknowns on the persistence and infectivity of Salmonella in contaminated plant hosts. In this review article, the factors affecting the attachment, colonization and survival of Salmonella on plant surfaces, as well as the information on the infection processes that continue with the invasion of plant tissues are discussed in the light of contemporary literature data.