title: Combination of biotyping and electrophoretic patterns of esterases for differentiation of nosocomial Serratia marcescens strains.
abstract: A total of 292 Serratia marcescens strains isolated in seven Belgian hospitals between 1986 and 1992 were submitted to both biotyping by carbon source utilization and esterase electrophoresis typing. The strains were assigned to 11 biotypes (290 isolates) or were auxotrophic (2 isolates), whereas the various electrophoretic patterns of their esterases produced 54 zymotypes. The two typing methods correlate well, since biotypes embraced more than one zymotype, while each zymotype was restricted to a single biotype. Esterase electrophoretic patterns represent a potent marker for delineating outbreaks of nosocomial infections, whereas biotyping appears to be an appropriate method for screening of strains.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Liege, Belgium.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chetoui
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Delhalle
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Osterrieth
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rousseaux
mesh_terms: D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology*; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004950:Esterases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification*; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D016868:Serratia Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D012706:Serratia marcescens / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D004950:Esterases