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Iron uptake mechanisms in the fish pathogen Tenacibaculum maritimum
Ruben Avendaño-Herrera1, Alicia E Toranzo, Jesús L Romalde
1Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Biología and Instituto de Acuicultura, Universidad de Santiago, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
|November 5, 2005
Summary
Tenacibaculum maritimum, a fish pathogen, possesses iron uptake mechanisms. This study reveals siderophore production and direct heme utilization, crucial for bacterial survival and virulence.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Bacterial Pathogenesis
- Iron Metabolism
Background:
- Iron is essential for bacterial growth and virulence.
- Fish pathogens require efficient iron acquisition strategies.
- Tenacibaculum maritimum is a significant bacterial fish pathogen.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate iron uptake mechanisms in Tenacibaculum maritimum.
- To determine if T. maritimum produces siderophores.
- To identify heme utilization pathways in T. maritimum.
Main Methods:
- Growth assays with iron chelators (EDDHA).
- Siderophore production and cross-feeding assays.
- Iron source utilization (transferrin, hemin, hemoglobin, ferric ammonic citrate).
- Hemin binding assays on whole cells and isolated outer membranes.
- Analysis of outer membrane protein induction under iron limitation.
Main Results:
- All examined T. maritimum strains grew with EDDHA and produced siderophores.
- Siderophores produced by different strains were closely related.
- Strains utilized various iron sources, including heme compounds.
- Constitutive hemin binding components were identified on the T. maritimum cell surface, particularly in outer membranes.
- Iron limitation induced similar patterns of outer membrane proteins across all strains.
Conclusions:
- T. maritimum possesses at least two distinct iron acquisition systems.
- One system involves siderophore synthesis and secretion.
- The second system enables direct utilization of heme as an iron source.
