Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica is one of the leading causes of human foodborne infections and several outbreaks are now associated with the consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables. This study aims at evaluating whether Salmonella virulence can be linked to an enhanced ability to survive successive digestive environments. Thirteen S. enterica strains were selected according to high and low virulence phenotypes. Lettuce inoculated separately with each S. enterica strain was used as food matrix in the TNO gastrointestinal model (TIM-1) of the human upper gastrointestinal tract. During the passage in the stomach, counts determined using PMA-qPCR were 2–5 logs higher than the cultivable counts for all strains indicating the presence of viable but non-cultivable cells. Bacterial growth was observed in the duodenum compartment after 180 min for all but one strain and growth continued into the ileal compartment. After passage through the simulated gastrointestinal tract, both virulent and avirulent S. enterica strains survived but high virulence strains had a significantly (p = 0.004) better average survival rate (1003 %–3753 %) than low virulence strains (from 25 % to 3730%). The survival rates of S. enterica strains could be linked to the presence of genes associated with acid and bile resistance and their predicted products. The presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms may also impact the function of virulence associated genes and play a role in the resulting phenotype. These data provide an understanding of the relationship between measured virulence potential and survival of S. enterica during dynamic simulated gastrointestinal transit.

沙门氏菌肠道亚种。enterica是人类食源性感染的主要原因之一，现在有几次爆发与食用新鲜水果和蔬菜有关。本研究旨在评估沙门氏菌的毒力是否与在连续消化环境中生存能力的增强有关。根据高毒力和低毒力表型选择了13株S. enterica菌株。用每个S. enterica分别接种的生菜菌株被用作人类上消化道 TNO 胃肠模型 (TIM-1) 中的食物基质。在胃中传代期间，使用 PMA-qPCR 确定的计数比所有菌株的可培养计数高 2-5 个对数，表明存在活但不可培养的细胞。180 分钟后在十二指肠隔室中观察到细菌生长，除了一种菌株外，所有菌株都在回肠隔室中继续生长。通过模拟胃肠道后，毒力和无毒的肠道沙门氏菌菌株均存活，但高毒力菌株的 平均存活率（p = 0.004）明显优于低毒力菌株（从 25 % 到 3730） %）。S. enterica的存活率菌株可能与与酸和胆汁抗性相关的基因及其预测产物的存在有关。单核苷酸多态性的存在也​​可能影响毒力相关基因的功能，并在产生的表型中发挥作用。这些数据提供了在动态模拟胃肠道传输期间测量的毒力潜力与S. enterica存活率之间关系的理解。