Abstract
Fifty-six strains from nineSerratia species, grown under a variety of cultural conditions, were examined in rocked-tile tests for the presence of haemagglutinins (HAs) and with the electron microscope for fimbriae. All strains were haemagglutinating; most (71%) formed two or three of the different kinds of HA detected. These were: (i) a mannose-sensitive HA (MS-HA); (ii) a mannose-resistant, klebsiella-like HA (MR/K-HA); (iii) two mannose-resistant, proteus-like HAs (MR/P-HA), one of which showed broad-spectrum HA activity against different species of erythrocytes and the other narrow-spectrum HA activity. Five types of fimbriae associated with the different HAs were observed. This description of the fimbrial HAs in nine species ofSerratia is the most comprehensive so far produced and should provide a basis for future studies directed towards elucidating the ecological role of the adhesins in in-vivo colonization by serratiae as commensals or pathogens.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adegbola RA, Old DC (1982) New fimbrial hemagglutinin inSerratia species. Infect Immun 38:306–315
Duguid JP (1959) Fimbriae and adhesive properties in Klebsiella strains. J Gen Microbiol 21:271–286
Duguid JP (1968) The function of bacterial fimbriae. Arch Immunol Ther Exp 16:173–188
Duguid JP, Anderson ES, Campbell I (1966) Fimbriae and adhesive properties in salmonellae. J Pathol Bacteriol 92:107–138
Duguid JP, Clegg S, Wilson MI (1979) The fimbrial and non-fimbrial haemagglutinins ofEscherichia coli. J Med Microbiol 12:213–227
Duguid JP, Gillies RR (1957) Fimbriae and adhesive properties in dysentery bacilli. J Pathol Bacteriol 74:397–411
Duguid JP, Gillies RR (1958) Fimbriae and haemagglutinating activity inSalmonella, Klebsiella, Proteus andChromobacterium. J Pathol Bacteriol 75:519–520
Duguid JP, Old DC (1980) Adhesive properties of Enterobacteriaceae, pp 185–217. In: Beachey (ed), Bacterial adherence, Receptors and recognition, Series B, Vol 6, Chapman and Hall: London
Duguid JP, Smith IW, Dempster G, Edmunds PN (1955) Non-flagellar filamentous appendages (“fimbriae”) and haemagglutinating activity inBacterium coli. J Pathol Bacteriol 70:335–348
Gavini F, Ferragut C, Izard D, Trinel PA, Leclerc H, Lefebre B, Mossel DAA (1979)Serratia fonticola: a new species from water. Int J Syst Bacteriol 29:92–101
Grimont PAD, Grimont F, Irino K (1982) Biochemical characterization ofSerratia liquefaciens sensu stricto, Serratia proteamaculans andSerratia grimesii sp nov. Curr Microbiol 7:69–74
Grimont PAD, Grimont F, Richard C, Davies BR, Steigerwalt AG, Brenner DJ (1978) Deoxyribonucleic acid relatedness betweenSerratia plymuthica and otherSerratia species, with a description ofSerratia odorifera sp nov (Type strain: ICPB 3995). Int J Syst Bacteriol 28:453–463
Grimont PAD, Grimont F, Starr MP (1979)Serratia ficaria sp nov, a bacterial species associated with Smyrna figs and the fig waspBlastophaga psenes. Curr Microbiol 2:277–282
Grimont PAD, Irino K, Grimont F (1982) TheSerratia liquefaciens-S. proteamaculans-S. grimesii complex: DNA relatedness. Curr Microbiol 7:63–68
Old DC (1972) Inhibition of the interaction between fimbrial haemagglutinins and erythrocytes byD-mannose and other carbohydrates. J Gen Microbiol 71: 149–157
Old DC, Adegbola RA (1982) Haemagglutinins and fimbriae ofMorganella, Proteus andProvidencia. J Med Microbiol 15:551–564
Old DC, Duguid JP (1970) Selective outgrowth of fimbriate bacteria in static liquid medium. J Bacteriol 103:447–456
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Old, D.C., Adegbola, R. & Scott, S.S. Multiple fimbrial haemagglutinins inSerratia species. Med Microbiol Immunol 172, 107–115 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02124511
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02124511