Enzyme polymorphism, prodigiosin production, and plasmid fingerprints in clinical and naturally occurring isolates of Serratia marcescens.

Enzyme polymorphism and genetic relationship among 99 Serratia marcescens isolates obtained from clinical and environmental sources were determined by analysis of electromorphs in nine enzyme loci encoded by chromosomal genes. Seven of the loci were polymorphic, and 33 distinctive electrophoretic types (ETs) representing multilocus genotypes were identified. Cluster analysis, based on the proportion of mismatches between multilocus genotypes, revealed two clearly differentiated groups of ETs in S. marcescens. One was represented exclusively by isolates with nonchromogenic biotypes recovered almost entirely (97.3%) from clinical samples. The other group comprised all isolates characterized by the production of prodigiosin or by belonging to a chromogenic biotype. Absolute correlation was found between the ability to produce prodigiosin and the absence of plasmids. In contrast, 24% of the nonchromogenic isolates contained plasmids. Results obtained by analysis of multilocus genotypes were related to those obtained by biotyping and plasmid fingerprinting. However, more groups could be distinguished by analysis of ETs than by biotyping. Plasmid fingerprinting was a limited typing system because many isolates lacked plasmids. Although the results of this study did not permit a definitive correlation between ETs and pathogenicity of the isolates, more detailed studies of these groups will help to understand the different clinical significances of the nonchromogenic and chromogenic isolates of S. marcescens.