High-affinity iron (Fe) scavenging compounds, or siderophores, are widely employed by soil bacteria to survive scarcity in bioavailable Fe. Siderophore biosynthesis relies on cellular carbon metabolism, despite reported decrease in both carbon uptake and Fe-containing metabolic proteins in Fe-def...

Iron is an essential nutrient for many critical cellular processes. As a consequence of diverse and dynamic host environments, the obligate intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii must adapt to iron limited conditions. To investigate the adaptations critical to parasite survival under these cond...

Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent form of cell death driven by lipid peroxidation. Here, we identify spermine—a polyamine derived from spermidine—as an endogenous iron chelator that directly suppresses ferroptosis. Integrating metabolomics, stable isotope tracing, and biophysical studies of the in...

Toxoplasma uses metal nutrients like iron and copper for vital functions in their energy metabolism. Here, we have used stable isotope labelling to track the incorporation of glucose and glutamine into metabolic pathways, primarily focusing on central carbon metabolism, when these metals are disr...

The effects of iron deficiency (ID) during infancy extend beyond the hematologic compartment and include short- and long-term adverse effects on many tissues including the brain. However, sensitive biomarkers of iron-dependent brain health are lacking in humans. To determine whether serum and cer...

Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) causes antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Susceptibility to C. difficile infection (CDI) is largely affected by the gut microbiota, which in turn is influenced by diet. However, the mechanism underlying the interplay between diet and the gut mic...

Pathogenic bacteria's metabolic adaptation for survival and proliferation within hosts is a crucial aspect of bacterial pathogenesis. Here, we demonstrate that citrate, the first intermediate of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, plays a key role as a regulator of gene expression in Staphylococc...