The near-iron transporter (NEAT) domains of the anthrax hemophore IsdX2 require a critical glutamine to extract heme from methemoglobin.

ABSTRACT: Several gram-positive pathogenic bacteria employ near-iron transporter (NEAT) domains to acquire heme from hemoglobin during infection. However, the structural requirements and mechanism of action for NEAT-mediated heme extraction remains unknown. Bacillus anthracis exhibits a rapid growth rate during systemic infection, suggesting that the bacterium expresses efficient iron acquisition systems. To understand how B. anthracis acquires iron from heme sources, which account for 80% of mammalian iron stores, we investigated the properties of the five-NEAT domain hemophore IsdX2. Using a combination of bioinformatics and site-directed mutagenesis, we determined that the heme extraction properties of IsdX2 are dependent on an amino acid with an amide side chain within the 310-helix of the NEAT

SUBMITTER: Honsa ES 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3605663 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature