JOURNAL OF NANJING FORESTRY UNIVERSITY ›› 2019, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (01): 76-82.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1000-2006.201804003

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Identification and characteristics of a strain of Serratia marcescens isolated from the termites,Odontotermes formosanus

FU Renjie, QI Xuelian, FENG Kai, XIA Xinrui,TANG Fang*   

  1. Co-Innovation Center for the Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
  • Online:2019-01-28 Published:2019-01-28

Abstract: 【Objective】 With increasing attention on the ecological environment, biological control of termites needs to be developed.【Method】A strain of a bacteria producing red pigment was screened from Odontotermes formosanus. After being separated and purified, a purer strain was obtained and named SM1. Then, SM1 was inoculated into O. formosanus, which caused the healthy termites to turn red and die. The bacteria was identified based on its morphological ch-aracteristics, physiological and biochemical characteristics, red pigment, and 16S rDNA. 【Result】The bacterial colony was round, easy to pick up, had slight odor, was smooth and sticky, and had a diameter of 1-3 mm and a middle vermilion that was not transparent. In addition, ten physiological and biochemical characteristics of the SM1 strain were measured. These results showed that the bacterium was Serratia marcescens. Furthermore, the size of its cloned 16S rDNA fragment was 1 418 bp, and the homology with Serratia marcescens was 99%. Therefore, the bacteria was determined to be Serratia marcescens. Further, a higher purity of red pigment could be obtained by ultrasonic-assisted acetone extraction, and the pigment was dissolved in ethanol solution and then analyzed by ultraviolet full wavelength scanning. The results showed that the pigment had an obvious absorption peak at 535 nm, which suggested that the red pigment was a prodigiosin. 【Conclusion】The bacterium screened from Odontotermes formosanus was Serratia marcescens, which created a theoretical foundation for the biological control of termites.

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