The five near-iron transporter (NEAT) domain anthrax hemophore, IsdX2, scavenges heme from hemoglobin and transfers heme to the surface protein IsdC.

ABSTRACT: Pathogenic bacteria require iron to replicate inside mammalian hosts. Recent studies indicate that heme acquisition in Gram-positive bacteria is mediated by proteins containing one or more near-iron transporter (NEAT) domains. Bacillus anthracis is a spore-forming, Gram-positive pathogen and the causative agent of anthrax disease. The rapid, extensive, and efficient replication of B. anthracis in host tissues makes this pathogen an excellent model organism for the study of bacterial heme acquisition. B. anthracis secretes two NEAT hemophores, IsdX1 and IsdX2. IsdX1 contains a single NEAT domain, whereas IsdX2 has five, a novel property among hemophores. To understand the functional significance of harboring multiple, non-identical NEAT domains, we purified each individual NEAT domain of Is

SUBMITTER: Honsa ES 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3190864 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature