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Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Staphylococcus aureus Growth using Human Hemoglobin as an Iron Source

Staphylococcus aureus Growth using Human Hemoglobin as an Iron Source

Published on: February 7, 2013

Flavohemoglobin of Staphylococcus aureus.

Lígia S Nobre¹, Vera L Gonçalves, Lígia M Saraiva

¹Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal.

Methods in Enzymology

|February 2, 2008

Summary

Staphylococcus aureus flavohemoglobin scavenges harmful nitrogen species. This protein protects the bacteria from nitrosative stress, but only under microaerobic conditions, not aerobic or anaerobic ones.

Area of Science:

Microbiology
Biochemistry
Molecular Biology

Background:

Bacteria encounter nitrogen-reactive species during denitrification and mammalian nitric oxide (NO) synthase activity, especially during infections.
Flavohemoglobins are key bacterial systems for scavenging these reactive species in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions.
Staphylococcus aureus, a significant human pathogen, possesses a gene for a flavohemoglobin homologue.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the function and protective role of the Staphylococcus aureus flavohemoglobin.
To determine the environmental conditions under which S. aureus flavohemoglobin is active in mitigating nitrosative stress.

Main Methods:

Recombinant protein expression and characterization of S. aureus flavohemoglobin.

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Construction and analysis of an S. aureus flavohemoglobin knockout mutant strain.

Assessment of bacterial survival and protection under various oxygen conditions.

Main Results:

The S. aureus flavohemoglobin shares physicochemical properties with other known flavohemoglobins.
The protein is effective in scavenging nitrogen-reactive species.
Protection against nitrosative stress was observed exclusively under microaerobic conditions.

Conclusions:

The S. aureus flavohemoglobin is crucial for protecting the bacterium against nitrosative stress.
Unlike other bacterial flavohemoglobins, its protective function is specifically dependent on microaerobic environments.
Understanding these specific conditions is vital for targeting S. aureus during infections.