Identification of the iron-responsive genes of Neisseria gonorrhoeae by microarray analysis in defined medium.

ABSTRACT: To ensure survival, most bacteria must acquire iron, a resource that is sequestered by mammalian hosts. Pathogenic bacteria have therefore evolved intricate systems to sense iron limitation and regulate gene expression appropriately. We used a pan-Neisseria microarray to examine genes regulated in Neisseria gonorrhoeae in response to iron availability in defined medium. Overall, 203 genes varied in expression, 109 up-regulated and 94 down-regulated by iron deprivation. In iron-replete medium, genes essential to rapid bacterial growth were preferentially expressed, while iron transport functions, and predominantly genes of unknown function, were expressed in low-iron medium. Of those TonB-dependent proteins encoded in the FA1090 genome with unknown ligand specificity, expression of three wa

SUBMITTER: Ducey TF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1169496 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature