A protein associated with prodigiosin formation in Serratia marcescens

A protein associated to prodigiosin formation was found in Serratia marcescens. The protein was not found in nonpigmented strains and was correlated with the pigment level. The protein was about 100 kilodaltons (kDa) and was also found in nonpigmented bacteria of the pigmented strain grown in glucose medium, at high temperature, or under anaerobic condition. The 100 kDa protein was found not in the outer membrane and the periplasm, but in the inner membrane and/or the cytoplasm. The protein was also found singly or dominantly in pigment-protein complexes and pigment-localizing vesicles described in previous reports. These results suggest that the 100 kDa protein is associated with prodigiosin formation.