Characterization of a novel chitinolytic Serratia marcescens strain TC-1 with broad insecticidal spectrum

The Gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium Serratia marcescens is an opportunistic pathogen of many organisms, including insects. We report the identification and optimal in vitro chitinase production conditions of a novel chitinolytic S. marcescens strain TC-1 isolated from a naturally infected white grub (Anomala corpulenta) collected from a peanut field at Nanyang city, Henan province, China. Strain identification was conducted by morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular analyses. The amplified 16S rRNA gene of TC-1 showed a similarity greater than 99% with multiple strains of S. marcescens. Based on Neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree analysis of bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences, TC-1 formed a clade with S. marcescens, clearly separated from other Serratia spp. The strain TC-1 showed larvicidal activities against five insect species (A. corpulenta, Plutella xylostella, Spodoptera exigua, Helicoverpa armigera, Bombyx mori) and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, but not against S. litura. The operating parameters of chitinase production by TC-1 were optimized by response surface methodology using a three-factor, three-level Box-Behnken experimental design. The effects of three independent variables i.e. colloidal chitin concentration (7–13 g l(−1)), incubation time (24–72 h) and incubation temperature (24–32 °C) on chitinase production by TC-1 were investigated. A regression model was proposed to correlate the independent variables for an optimal chitinase activity predicted as 20.946 U ml(−1), using a combination of colloidal chitin concentration, incubation time and incubation temperature of 9.06 g l(−1), 63.83 h and 28.12 °C, respectively. The latter agreed well with a mean chitinase activity of 20.761 ± 0.102 U ml(−1) measured in the culture supernatants of TC-1 grown under similar conditions with a colloidal chitin concentration, incubation time and incubation temperature of 9 g l(−1), 64 h and 28 °C, respectively. Our study revealed the S. marcescens strain TC-1 with potential as a biocontrol agent of insect pests and nematodes and demonstrated the proposed regression model's potential to guide chitinase production by this strain. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13568-022-01442-6.