[1] It is divided into six subspecies, arizonae (IIIa), diarizonae (IIIb), houtenae (IV), salamae (II), indica (VI), and enterica (I).

It primarily resides in the intestinal tract of animals and humans and can be found in feedstuff, soil, bedding, litter, and fecal matter.

[6] The primary reservoir for the pathogen is poultry and 70% of human cases are attributed to the consumption of contaminated eggs, chicken, or turkey.

Pasteurizing and food irradiation are used to kill Salmonella for commercially produced foodstuffs containing raw eggs such as ice cream.

Foods prepared in the home from raw eggs, such as mayonnaise, cakes, and cookies, can spread salmonellae if not properly cooked before consumption.

A remarkably large number of fimbrial and nonfimbrial adhesins are present in Salmonella, and mediate biofilm formation and contact to host cells.

[20] Mutants of S. enterica that are defective in enzymes required for the process of base excision repair are sensitive to bile salts.

[citation needed] Small nonprotein-coding RNAs (sRNA) are able to perform specific functions without being translated into proteins; 97 bacterial sRNAs from Salmonella Typhi were discovered.

AsdA is estimated to be about 540 nucleotides long, and represents the complementary strand to that encoding DnaA, a protein that plays a central role in the initiation of DNA replication and hence cellular division.