Inducing Prodigiosin Transposon mutagenesis in Serratia Marcescens Introduction Serratia Marcescens is an opportunistic pathogen, mainly of healthcare facilities but can also be found in many diverse environments. Serratia is a gram negative bacteria which can give it innate resistance to certain antibiotics, especially those that target peptidoglycan cell wall synthesis, due to its outer membrane. In an environment with different microorganisms competing for food Serratia holds a component that gives it another selective advantage. The bacteria contains a red pigment called prodigiosin, that has antibacterial, antifungal, and even antiprotozoal activity. The pigment is produced due to quorum sensing of bacteria, when an appropriate level of N-hex anoyl-L-homoserine lactone (HHL), …show more content…
This was done to dilute and isolate colonies and compare their appearance to the wildtype to verify prodigiosin production had been disrupted in the Serratia. Results The colonies of Serratia Marcesccens that was plated and incubated (Figure 3,4,5) were counted. The colony plated from serial dilution six was too numerous to count because it had more than 300 CFU/mL. The colonies from serial dilution seven (1x10-8) contained 182 CFU/mL. The colonies from serial dilution eight yielded (1x10-9) 78 CFU. The E. coli and Serratia colonies after the mixture showed yellow and variations of red in the colonies. They were too numerous to count. The smell was repugnant and there was some condensation on the plate top. Serratia and E. coli plated at a concentration of 1x10-3 (Figure 6 and 7) from the original mixture yielded scattered colonies on the media. They were too numerous to count. Colonies were red and only appeared to be