Salmonella reference collection B (SARB): strains of 37 serovars of subspecies I.

A reference collection of 72 strains representing 37 serovars of Salmonella subspecies I has been established for use in research on genetic and phenotypic variation in natural populations. Included are isolates of the host-adapted serovars S. choleraesuis, S. dublin, S. gallinarum, S. paratyphi A, S. paratyphi B, S. paratyphi C, S. pullorum, S. sendai, S. typhi and S. typhisuis, as well as strains of S. enteritidis, S. typhimurium, and other commonly recovered serovars with broad host ranges. The isolates were characterized by enzyme electrophoresis for allelic variation in 25 chromosomal genes and represent 71 distinctive multilocus genotypes (electrophoretic types or ETs). Genetic relationships among the ETs are indicated in an evolutionary tree constructed by the neighbour-joining method from a matrix of Nei's standard genetic distance.