Name: Serratia rubidaea (Stapp 1940) Ewing et al. 1973 (Approved Lists 1980)

Category: Species

Proposed as: comb. nov.

Basonym: "Bacterium rubidaeum" Stapp 1940

Etymology: ru.bi.dae’a. L. masc. n. Rubus, idaeus, scientific name of raspberry; N.L. fem. adj. rubidaea, pertaining to Rubus idaeus (contracted from Rubus idaeus, and made to agree in gender with Serratia)

Pronunciation (Latin), gender: ser-RA-ti-a ru-bi-DA͡E-a, feminine

Type strain: ATCC 27593; CCUG 10981; CCUG 9286; CIP 103234; DSM 4480; JCM 1240; LMG 5019; NBRC 103169; NCTC 12971

See detailed strain information at

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: AJ233436 Analyse FASTA

Effective publication: Ewing WH, Davis BR, Fife MA, Lessel EF. Biochemical characterization of Serratia liquefaciens (Grimes and Hennerty) Bascomb et al. (formerly Enterobacter liquefaciens) and Serratia rubidaea (Stapp) comb. nov. and designation of type and neotype strains. International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology 1973; 23:217-225.

IJSEM list: Skerman VBD, McGowan V, Sneath PHA. Approved lists of bacterial names. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1980; 30:225-420.

Nomenclatural status: validly published under the ICNP

Taxonomic status: correct name (and explicitly recommended for medical use)

Risk group: 2

• Synonyms:

  • Name	Kind
    Serratia marinorubra ZoBell and Upham 1944 (Approved Lists 1980)	homotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP, illegitimate name
    "Bacterium rubidaeum" Stapp 1940	homotypic synonym, not validly published, basonym of name in Approved Lists

• Notes:
  • 😷 The risk group for Canada has been imported on 2024-02-27. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "Animal classification RG: 1 - Security sensitive biological agent: No - Terrestrial animal pathogen under Canadian Food Inspection Agency authority: No - Containment level: Containment Level 2". — The risk group for Swiss Confederation has been imported on 2024-02-01. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "PI". — The risk group for Germany has been imported on 2026-08-13. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "n". — The risk group for Taiwan has been imported on 2024-11-03. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "P650 = v". — If in doubt, use the risk group given in the regulations for your country and, if these are not available, use the risk group given in the catalogue of the culture collection from which you have obtained or intend to obtain the strain.
  • 🎓 Name mentioned 79 times in PubMed until 2026-06-11.
  • 🙆 This name is on the List of Recommended Names for bacteria of medical importance (LoRN) as the name to be applied to this species. The name is on LoRN because of the recorded risk group of the species itself.
  • 🧍 According to Bartlett et al. (2022), this species is an established human pathogen. Publication: Bartlett A, Padfield D, Lear L, Bendall R, Vos M. A comprehensive list of bacterial pathogens infecting humans. Microbiology (Reading) 2022; 168:0. 🇬🇧
  • 🧍 However, according to Brenner [1] and according to Grimont and Grimont [2], the type strain of Serratia marinorubra is ATCC 27614 not ATCC 27593 as incorrectly shown on the Approved Lists because of an error by the Enterobacteriaceae Subcommittee. To avoid further confusion, the name Serratia rubidaea (Stapp 1940) Ewing et al. 1973 (Approved Lists 1980) should now be used to designate the same (Serratia rubidaea-Serratia marinorubra) taxon [2]. This proposal has not been validly published. Publication: Grimont PAD, Grimont F. Genus VIII. Serratia Bizio 1823, 288AL. In: Krieg NR, Holt JG (eds), Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, first edition, vol. 1, The Williams & Wilkins Co., Baltimore, 1984, p. 477-484. 🇺🇸

Parent taxon: Serratia Bizio 1823 (Approved Lists 1980)

Assigned by: Ewing WH, Davis BR, Fife MA, Lessel EF. Biochemical characterization of Serratia liquefaciens (Grimes and Hennerty) Bascomb et al. (formerly Enterobacter liquefaciens) and Serratia rubidaea (Stapp) comb. nov. and designation of type and neotype strains. International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology 1973; 23:217-225.

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Record number: 780886