Mutation of crp mediates Serratia marcescens serralysin and global secreted protein production

The bacterial species Serratia marcescens secretes both beneficial and cytotoxic proteins. Here we report that a crp mutant exhibited elevated secreted protease activity. A genetic screen revealed that the gene coding for the metalloprotease serralysin was necessary for the elevated proteolysis, and this was confirmed by western blot analysis. Proteomic analysis of secreted proteins corroborated increased secretion of serralysin protease by crp mutants compared to the wild type. The crp-mutant-secreted fractions also contained less chitinase and chitin binding protein. These data support the hypothesis that cAMP-CRP is an upstream indirect regulator of serralysin production and they provide novel insight into the S. marcescens secretome.