[Pigmentation of Serratia marcescens and spectral properties of prodigiosin]

Pigmentation of Serratia marcescens depends on the composition of the cultivation medium. The cultures grown on glycerol-peptone medium and on the medium with acetate are red and yellow (yellowish orange), respectively, with the color depending on the ambient pH. S. marcescens cells growth on glycerol-peptone medium (visually of red color) contain two forms of prodigiosin: the "red" and "yellow" ones with absorption maxima at 535 and 460-470 nm, respectively. The absorption spectrum of prodigiosin in the native pigment-protein complex was different from the spectrum of the pigment dissolved in ethanol and resembled that of the cell suspension in the presence of an additional absorption maximum at 500 nm.