Antibiotic Resistance and Putative Virulence Factors of Serratia Marcescens with Respect to O and K Serotypes

Abstract

Serratia marcescens serotypes 06:K14, 08:K14 and 028:K28 are common in the natural environment, but rare in hospitals. Serotypes 014:K14 and 027:K14 predominate among clinical strains, but not in the environment, suggesting that the latter serotypes may be more suited for survival in the clinical setting. Consequently, 469 epidemiologically distinct strains of S. marcescens were tested for various putative virulence factors and analysed for associations with serotype. The factors positively associated with serotype 014:K14 were agglutination of five different species of red blood cells and expression of type 1 fimbriae. These were found in 63% and 53% of 014:K14 strains, respectively, compared with 7% and 12% of the three 'environmental serotypes'. Almost a quarter of the collection expressed the mannose-resistant haemagglutinin indicative of type 3 fimbriae, but this was not associated with any serotype. The production of DNAase, haemolysin, lipase, lecithinase, proteases and siderophores was almost universal and showed no serotype correlations. Almost half of the strains (46%) were resistant to serum and serotypes 027:K14 and 06:K14 were strongly associated with this characteristic. Serotype 027:K14 was also associated with higher proportions of antibiotic-resistant strains than other serotypes, but the same was not true of serotype 014:K14. All three 'environmental serotypes' were associated with low frequencies of antibiotic resistance; < 12Y0 were resistant to gentamicin, carbenicillin or piperacillin, or any combination of these three, compared with 20-25% of 014:K14 strains and > 42-51% of 027:K14 strains. Pigment production was strongly associated with serotype. None of the 014:K14 or 027:K14 strains produced prodigiosin, but frequencies for the three 'environmental serotypes' ranged from 31 YO of 028:K28 strains to 85% of 06:K14 strains. The results of this study suggest that the adherence capability of S. marcescens strains may play a role in the colonisation of hospital patients, while the production of prodigiosin is a marker of environmental origin.

Evaluation of in vitro antibacterial activity of some disinfectants on Escherichia coli serotypes.

“…This was further confirmed by testing the adherence of E. coli O55:K39 serotype to tracheal explants, which proved the efficiency of using formalin as a disinfectant in poultry farms. Aucken and Pitt (1998) found that the only positive association for the dominant clinical Serratia marcescens serotype O14:K14 was related to adherence. They indicated the importance of the initial colonization of the host as a prerequest for the establishment of infection.…”

The Serratia gene cluster encoding biosynthesis of the red antibiotic, prodigiosin, shows species- and strain-dependent genome context variation

“…Of these strains, three are clinical isolates and two are environmental. It has long been observed that nonpigmented antibiotic-resistant strains of S. marcescens are much more common in the clinical setting than in the natural environment (Aucken & Pitt, 1998;Carbonell et al, 2000;Grimont & Grimont, 1978). There is no obvious reason for the prevalence of non-pigmented clinical strains, Fig.…”

<b>Petroleum biodegrading and co-resistance to antibiotics by <i>Serratia marcescens</i> strain isolated in Coari, Amazonas

“…Due to the metabolic capacity of S. marcescens strains to degrade petroleum, these strains have been used alone or in microbial consortia, aiming at the recovery of environments impacted by petroleum spills and derivatives (Wongsa et al, 2004;Ortega-González et al, 2013;Silva et al, 2015). Serratia marcescens is able to survive in inhospitable environments, presenting resistance to antiseptics, disinfectants and antibiotics (Aucken & Pitt, 1998;Doi et al, 2004;Iguchi et al, 2014). The ability to metabolize different xenobiotics, produce bioactive compounds as well as colonize different environments are among the characteristics that gives to this species multiple abilities and a great biotechnological and commercial potential.…”