Nutrient sulfur acquisition strategies employed by bacterial pathogens
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Updated: Feb 1, 2026

Detection of Foodborne Bacterial Pathogens from Individual Filth Flies
Published on: February 13, 2015
Joshua M Lensmire1, Neal D Hammer1
1Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
Abstract:
Pathogens have evolved elegant mechanisms to acquire essential nutrients from host environments. Sulfur is a requirement for bacterial growth and inorganic and organic sulfur-containing metabolites are abundant within the host-pathogen interface. A growing body of evidence suggests that pathogens are capable of scavenging both types of sulfur sources to fulfill the nutritional requirement. While therapeutic strategies focusing on inhibiting inorganic sulfate assimilation and cysteine synthesis show promise in vitro, in vivo efficacy maybe limited due to the diversity of host-derived sulfur sources and the fact that most pathogens are capable of acquiring multiple sources of sulfur.
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