Enterobacterial common antigen integrity is a checkpoint for flagellar biogenesis in Serratia marcescens.

Serratia marcescens strains are ubiquitous bacteria isolated from environmental niches, such as soil, water, and air, and also constitute emergent nosocomial opportunistic pathogens. Among the numerous extracellular factors that S. marcescens is able to produce, the PhlA phospholipase is the only described exoprotein secreted by the flagellar apparatus while simultaneously being a member of the flagellar regulon.