A co-conserved gene pair supports <i>Caulobacter</i> iron homeostasis during chelation stress.

ABSTRACT: Synthetic metal chelators are widely used in industrial, clinical, and agricultural settings, leading to their accumulation in the environment. We measured the growth of Caulobacter crescentus, a soil and aquatic bacterium, in the presence of the ubiquitous chelator ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and found that it restricts growth by lowering intracellular iron levels. Using barcoded transposon sequencing, we identified an operonic gene pair, cciT-cciO, that is required to maintain iron homeostasis in laboratory media during EDTA challenge. cciT encodes one of four TonB-dependent transporters that are regulated by the ferric uptake repressor (Fur) and stands out among this group of genes in its ability to support Caulobacter growth across diverse media c

SUBMITTER: Ortiz SH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11870441 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature