title: Staphylococcal iron requirements, siderophore production, and iron-regulated protein expression.
abstract: Despite the ability of staphylococci to grow in iron-restricted conditions in vivo, their iron requirements and the mechanisms possessed by them for the uptake of iron are poorly understood. Many bacteria are known to produce siderophores. By using the chrome azurol S universal method for the detection of siderophores, all 14 isolates of Staphylococcus aureus tested grew well under conditions of iron restriction and produced iron-regulated siderophore in large quantities, while all 19 isolates of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) grew poorly under conditions of iron restriction and produced low levels of iron chelator. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis profiles of S. aureus isolates revealed altered protein patterns due to iron restriction, while altered profiles were not seen in the CoNS group. The ability to grow in iron-restricted conditions, possibly with the assistance of siderophore-mediated iron uptake, may contribute to the increased pathogenicity of S. aureus when compared with that of the CoNS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Western Australia, Nedlands.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lindsay
authors.forename: T V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Riley
mesh_terms: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism*; D007502:Iron Chelating Agents / Q000378:metabolism; D033862:Iron-Binding Proteins; D033902:Periplasmic Binding Proteins; D017262:Siderophores / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D007502:Iron Chelating Agents; D033862:Iron-Binding Proteins; D033902:Periplasmic Binding Proteins; D017262:Siderophores; D007501:Iron