Serratia marcescens ATCC 274 increases production of the red pigment prodigiosin in response to Chi phage infection.

ABSTRACT: Serratia marcescens is an opportunistic human pathogen that produces a vibrant red pigment called prodigiosin. Prodigiosin has implications in virulence of S. marcescens and promising clinical applications. We discovered that addition of the virulent flagellotropic bacteriophage χ (Chi) to a culture of S. marcescens stimulates a greater than fivefold overproduction of prodigiosin. Active phage infection is required for the effect, as a χ-resistant strain lacking flagella does not respond to phage presence. Via a reporter fusion assay, we have determined that the addition of a χ-induced S. marcescens cell lysate to an uninfected culture causes a threefold increase in transcription of the pig operon, containing genes essential for pigment biosynthesis. Replacement of the pig promoter with a

SUBMITTER: Esteves NC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11291754 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature