[Regulation of gene expression in the bacterial cell by fur family proteins]

Bacteria require iron for growth. To acquire environmental iron and transport it into the bacterial cell, they evolved sophisticated mechanisms. However, an excess of iron may be toxic for the cell, mostly by its involvement in the generation of reactive species. To date, no mechanisms of excretion of iron outside the bacterial cell were found, thus cellular iron level regulation is performed by control of its transport and appropriate synthesis of iron-coordinating and iron-storage proteins. The majority of genes engaged in iron homeostasis in the bacterial cell are under a global regulator, repressor Fur. In this work, structure and function of proteins comprising Fur family and their involvement in iron level regulation is presented.