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. 1987 Jan;169(1):61–65. doi: 10.1128/jb.169.1.61-65.1987

Flagellar variation in Serratia marcescens is associated with color variation.

D K Paruchuri, R M Harshey
PMCID: PMC211733  PMID: 3539927

Abstract

The pigmented enterobacterium Serratia marcescens, an opportunistic pathogen, shows a striking variation of its red color. Different strains differ greatly both in color and in the frequency with which they produce color variants. Within a strain, the variations occur at constant rates and are reversible. During an investigation of this phenomenon we observed that variation of a 39-kilodalton protein in S. marcescens 274 is closely associated with color variation. Using antibodies to this protein we identified it as being a component of the bacterial flagella. Variation of surface proteins often provides an organism with alternate offense-defense strategies for survival in a challenging environment. The pigment, in association with flagella, may provide such a function for S. marcescens.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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