A Novel Heme Transporter from the Energy Coupling Factor Family Is Vital for Group A Streptococcus Colonization and Infections.

ABSTRACT: Group A streptococcus (GAS) produces millions of infections worldwide, including mild mucosal infections, postinfection sequelae, and life-threatening invasive diseases. During infection, GAS readily acquires nutritional iron from host heme and hemoproteins. Here, we identified a new heme importer, named SiaFGH, and investigated its role in GAS pathophysiology. The SiaFGH proteins belong to a group of transporters with an unknown ligand from the recently described family of energy coupling factors (ECFs). A siaFGH deletion mutant exhibited high streptonigrin resistance compared to the parental strain, suggesting that iron ions or an iron complex is the likely ligand. Iron uptake and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) studies showed that the loss of siaFGH d

SUBMITTER: Chatterjee N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7317044 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature