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Published on: October 12, 2018
Pulcherriminic acid relay; a Bacilli route to attack pathogens
Ramya Srinivasan1, Chaitany Jayprakash Raorane2, Tamil Selvam Saravanan1
1Department of Biotechnology, School of Bioengineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, India.
None:
Pulcherriminic acid (PA) relay is a recently discovered phenomenon in which the Bacillus subtilis employs branching biofilms to relay the antimicrobial pigment, pulcherriminic acid towards the pathogen. PA interacts with the free iron in the environment to form the reddish-pink pigment, pulcherimin, which subsequently accumulates on the pathogen depriving them of the essential iron. In Staphylococcus aureus, the ferric uptake regulator (Fur) system plays a vital role in maintaining iron homeostasis, virulence, and biofilm formation. The perspective article discusses the plausible mechanistic insights on the impact of PA relay in hampering the Fur system. Taken together, these findings highlight PA and PA-producing Bacillus species as a promising alternative for mitigating drug resistant S. aureus infections.
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