Serratia

American  

[suh-rey-shuh, -shee-uh, -rah-tee-uh] / səˈreɪ ʃə, -ʃi ə, -ˈrɑ ti ə /

noun

Bacteriology.

1. a genus of rod-shaped, aerobic bacteria that are saprophytic on decaying plant or animal materials.

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Etymology

Origin of Serratia

< New Latin, named after Serafino Serrati, 19th-century Italian industrialist; -a ²

Example Sentences

The liquid in the test kits was found to be contaminated "with organisms such as Enterococcus, Enterobacter, Klebsiella and Serratia species" that could cause illness for people with weakened immune systems, the FDA said.

From BBC • May 5, 2023

The scum, often called “pink mold,” is a type of bacteria, Serratia marcescens.

From Washington Post • Dec. 16, 2022

Serratia, Pseudomonas and Rhodococcus ate away at detritus—from visitors and decaying corpses—that had seeped into Michelangelo’s sarcophagi.

From Scientific American • Aug. 14, 2021

Over the centuries, he seeped into Michelangelo’s marble, the chapel’s experts said, creating deep stains, button-shaped deformations, and, more recently, providing a feast for the chapel’s preferred cleaning product, a bacteria called Serratia ficaria SH7.

From New York Times • May 30, 2021

While Serratia marcesens was found in animals, the strains infecting the corals only matches samples taken from human waste.

From Time • Aug. 20, 2011