Serratia liquefaciens
Serratia is a genus of Gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacteria of the family Yersiniaceae. They are typically 1–5 μm in length, do not produce spores, and can be found in water, soil, plants, and animals. Some members of this genus produce a characteristic red pigment, prodigiosin, and can be distinguished from other members of the order Enterobacterales by their unique production of three enzymes: DNase (nucA), lipase, and gelatinase (serralysin). Serratia was thought to be a harmless environmental bacteria until it was discovered that the most common species in the genus, S. marcescens, is an opportunistic pathogen of many animals, including humans. In humans, S. marcescens is mostly associated with nosocomial, or hospital-acquired, infections, but can also cause urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and endocarditis. S. marcescens is frequently found in showers, toilet bowls, and around wet tiles as a pinkish to red biofilm but only causes disease in immunocompromised individuals. Aside from S. marcescens, some rare strains of the Serratia species – S. plymuthica, S. liquefaciens, S. rubidaea, and S. odoriferae – have been shown to cause infection such as osteomyelitis and endocarditis.
From the article Serratia on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Range & habitat
Various strains of Serratia occupy an eclectic range of habitats: soil, water, plants, insects, and others.
Water. Currently, four species of Serratia have been found in seawater: S. marcescens, S. liquefaciens, S. plymuthica, and S. marinorubra. S. marcescens is the most abundant, comprising approximately half of all strains found. S. aquatilis is a novel species of Serratia found in drinking water.
Plants. The plant types with the highest Serratia prevalence are vegetables, mushrooms, mosses, grasses, and decaying plant material. Serratia has been consistently found in figs and coconuts. S. marcescens and S. ficaria are often found in Calimyrna figs. Several species related to Serratia have also been identified on Smyrna figs and its fig wasps. Only one species of Serratia, S. marinorubra, has been identified on coconuts from various regions of the world, including California, France, and Brazil. Both S. marcescens and certain strains of Enterobacter were also identified in the rhizospheres of coconut palms.
Insects. Serratia is found in over 70 species of healthy, dead, and diseased insects. These include crickets, grasshoppers, bees, aphids, and fruit flies. Most of them reside in insects as bacterial flora and some form mutualistic symbiotic relationships with their hosts. For example, in aphids, strains of S. …
Wikipedia: “Habitat”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Serratia liquefaciens in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 635274.