Gram negative

Bacillus

Opportunistic pathogen (1)

Facultative anaerobe

Create red pigment called "prodigiosin"

Found in water, soil, animals, insects, plants, hospitals

BSL-1: only requires basic lab procedures (2)

First (possible) record: 6th BCE

• Pythagoras noted spots of "crimson blood" on bread (4)

• Fun fact: S. marcescens loves starchy food and causes red spots on bread. It's been proposed that this is why the Catholic church considers bread the "body of Christ"

Discovered by Bartolomeo Bizio in Italy 1823 (5).

• no cultures of the original strain exist

Originally thought to be nonpathogenic

• corrected in mid-1900s (1)

Used in military experimentation to test germ warfare

Operation Sea Spray: military sprayed S. marcescens over San Francisco to simulate how it would spread (also done in other major cities) (4)

• led to ethics concerns and Congressional hearings

Many hospital outbreaks, especially in the ICU

Resides on medical equipment, lotions, antiseptics, medications, blood products and sinks. Proper sanitation is CRUCIAL (1)

Resides in the digestive tract, respiratory tract, urinary tract, and artificial nails of hospital workers (1)

Medical issues (1):

• meningitis, especially in children

• endocarditis and osteomyelitis in patients with history of heroin use

• respiratory, urinary tract infections

• pneumonia

• lethal in blood infections

Can hurt ecosystems:

• has infected A. palmata, a species of endangered Caribbean coral, with white pox disease (3)

• caused mastitis outbreak in 1958 in dairy herd (3)

Resistant to many antibiotics, and resistance can vary widely among strains

Produces beta lactamase, so it is resistant to beta lactam antibiotics (3)

Resistant to: penicillin G, macrolides, clindamycin, linezolid, glycopeptides, quinupristin-dalfopristin, rifampin, ampicillin, amoxicillin, cephamycins, colistin, nitrofurantoin, cefuroxime (3)

Susceptible to: piperacillin-tazobactam, fluoroquinolone, aminoglycosidem carbapenem (3)

Chloramphenicol is effective against biofilms (6)

Its red pigment has been used as a natural dye for olefins (alkenes) and textiles (7)

Prodigiosin has been reported to have anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-microbial and anti-oxidant uses (7)

As a biological marker: tracks metabolic behavior and transmission of bacteria (4)

let's say you order strain ATCC^® 13880

first, open vial according to the package instructions

rehydrate pellet with nutrient broth using a Pasteur or 1mL pipette

• only use 0.5 to 1 mL of the broth

aseptically transfer pellet to nutrient broth.

inoculate nutrient agar slant or plate

incubate at 26° C for 24 to 48 hours. (8)