title: Iron acquisition and hemolysin production by Campylobacter jejuni.
abstract: Campylobacter jejuni strains were tested for their ability to acquire iron from various iron sources present in humans. Hemin, hemoglobin, hemin-hemopexin, and hemoglobin-haptoglobin stimulated the growth of C. jejuni strains in low-iron medium. Transferrin, lactoferrin, and ferritin were unable to provide iron to the strains tested. Derivatives of the naturally transformable C. jejuni strain 81-176 were isolated on the basis of their inability to use hemin as an iron source. These mutants were also unable to use hemoglobin, hemin-hemopexin, or hemoglobin-haptoglobin as iron sources. Some mutants lacked a 71,000-Da iron-regulated outer membrane protein, while others appeared to retain all of their outer membrane proteins. Growth curves and a recombination experiment that exploited natural transformation were used to further characterize the mutants. A hemolytic activity was shown to be produced by several C. jejuni strains, but it did not appear to be iron regulated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Chandler Medical Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40536-0084.
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Pickett
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Auffenberg
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Pesci
authors.forename: V L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Sheen
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Jusuf
mesh_terms: D016123:Campylobacter jejuni / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D006427:Hemin / Q000494:pharmacology; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism*; D009154:Mutation
chemical_list: D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; D006427:Hemin; D007501:Iron