title: Close before opening.
abstract: As bacteria need iron from the environment to survive, they have evolved active iron transporter proteins in their outer membranes. In her Perspective, Postle discusses new insights into iron transport revealed by the crystal structure of the iron transporter FecA in E. coli (Ferguson et al.).
authors.affiliation: School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA. postle@mail.wsu.edu
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Postle
mesh_terms: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D001665:Binding Sites; D001693:Biological Transport, Active; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D005290:Ferric Compounds / Q000378:metabolism*; D015640:Ion Channel Gating; D008024:Ligands; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D017262:Siderophores / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C028589:FecA protein, E coli; D005290:Ferric Compounds; D008024:Ligands; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D017262:Siderophores; C057616:tonB protein, Bacteria; C489181:tonB protein, E coli; C025314:ferric citrate