Prodigiosin from Serratia:Synthesis and potential applications

摘要

Prodigiosin is a red pigment with a pyrrolylpyrromethane skeleton.It is mainly produced by bacterial strains belonging to the Serratia genus,but also by some other genera,including Streptomyces and Vibrio.Within the genus Serratia,the pigment is generally produced as a virulence factor.However,it also has many important beneficial biological activities such as immunosuppressive and anti-proliferative activities.Moreover,the pigment has many industrial applications in textile and cosmetics.In this mini-review,we discuss the genetic and molecular mechanisms supporting prodigiosin synthesis and production from the Serratia genus,as well as its potential applications.