Abstract
The bacterial respiratory pathogens Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella bronchiseptica employ multiple alternative iron acquisition pathways to adapt to changes in the mammalian host environment during infection. The alcaligin, enterobactin, and heme utilization pathways are differentially expressed in response to the cognate iron source availability by a mechanism involving substrate-inducible positive regulators. As inducers, the iron sources function as chemical signals termed ferrimones. Ferrimone-sensing allows the pathogen to adapt and exploit early and late events in the infection process.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 33-41 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | BioMetals |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 2009 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:subject to interference or signal antagonism. All three circuits converge to supply the requisite nutrient iron. When the bacterium’s iron demands are satisfied, iron activates the DNA-binding activity of the Fur repressor and iron transport system expression is globally repressed Acknowledgements The authors’ research described herein was supported by Public Health Service grant AI-31088 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Keywords
- Bordetella
- Ferrimone
- Heme
- Iron
- Regulation
- Siderophore
