Capsule Production and Glucose Metabolism Dictate Fitness during Serratia marcescens Bacteremia.

ABSTRACT: Serratia marcescens is an opportunistic pathogen that causes a range of human infections, including bacteremia, keratitis, wound infections, and urinary tract infections. Compared to other members of the Enterobacteriaceae family, the genetic factors that facilitate Serratia proliferation within the mammalian host are less well defined. An in vivo screen of transposon insertion mutants identified 212 S. marcescens fitness genes that contribute to bacterial survival in a murine model of bloodstream infection. Among those identified, 11 genes were located within an 18-gene cluster encoding predicted extracellular polysaccharide biosynthesis proteins. A mutation in the wzx gene contained within this locus conferred a loss of fitness in competition inf

SUBMITTER: Anderson MT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5442460 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature