Limited role for iron regulation in Coxiella burnetii pathogenesis.

ABSTRACT: In gram-negative bacteria, iron acquisition proteins are commonly regulated by Fur (ferric uptake regulator), which binds iron-regulated promoters (the Fur box). We hypothesized that Coxiella burnetii requires iron and employs an iron-regulatory system and used various approaches to define a Fur regulon. Cloned C. burnetii fur complemented an Escherichia coli fur deletion mutant. A ferrous iron transporter gene (CBU1766), a putative iron binding protein-encoding gene (CBU0970), and a cation efflux pump gene (CBU1362) were identified by genome annotation and using a Fur titration assay. Bioinformatically predicted Fur box-containing promoters were tested for transcriptional control by iron. Five genes demonstrated at least a twofold induction with minimal iron. Putatively regulated genes we

SUBMITTER: Briggs HL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2346684 | biostudies-literature | 2008 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature