SALMONELLA IS THE MICROBE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LARGEST NUMBER OF DEATHS DUE TO FOODBORNE ILLNESSES IN THE US. RECALLS DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF SALMONELLA ALSO REPRESENT A SIGNIFICANT BURDEN ON THE FOOD INDUSTRY. UNFORTUNATELY, PAST EFFORTS TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF HUMAN CASES OF SALMONELLA INFECTIONS IN THE US HAVE BEEN LARGELY UNSUCCESSFUL. THIS MAY BE AT LEAST IN PART DUE TO THE FACT THAT THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF SALMONELLA (SCIENTIFICALLY REFERRED TO AS DIFFERENT SEROVARS); MORE SPECIFICALLY THERE ARE MORE THAN 2,600 SALMONELLA SEROVARS, WHILE SOME SEROVARS COMMONLY CAUSE HUMAN DISEASE, OTHERS RARELY OR NEVER CAUSE HUMAN DISEASE, DESPITE BEING FREQUENTLY FOUND IN CERTAIN ANIMALS (E.G., CHICKEN, TURKEYS, COWS). CURRENT STRATEGIES TO CONTROL SALMONELLA TARGET ALL SALMONELLA SEROVARS, WHICH MEANS CONSIDERABLE RESOURCES MAY BE USED TO REDUCE THE OCCURRENCE OF SALMONELLA SEROVARS THAT ARE NOT AN APPRECIABLE CAUSE OF HUMAN DISEASE. THIS PROJECT WILL USE MODERN TOOLS TO IDENTIFY AND DEFINE SEROVARS THAT ARE LIKELY TO CAUSE HUMAN DISEASE (AND HENCE NEED TO BE TARGETED IN CONTROL PLANS) AS WELL AS THOSE THAT ARE UNLIKELY TO CAUSE HUMAN DISEASE. THIS FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE WILL FACILITATE MORE EFFECTIVE AND ECONOMICAL CONTROL OF SALMONELLA IN POULTRY AND BEEF AND CAN BE USED TO CREATE A PUBLIC HEALTH-ORIENTED PRIORITY LIST OF SALMONELLA SEROVARS TO BE TARGETED FOR CONTROL IN POULTRY AND BEEF. POSSIBLE IMPACTS OF THIS PROJECT INCLUDE THE DESIGN OF VACCINATION SCHEMES THAT SPECIFICALLY TARGET CONTROL OF THOSE SALMONELLA SEROVARS MOST LIKELY TO CAUSE HUMAN DISEASE.THIS PROJECT WILL SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS THE PROGRAM AREA A1332 (FOOD SAFETY AND DEFENSE).