This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Heinrichs, J. H.
Right arrow Articles by Hanson, M. S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Heinrichs, J. H.
Right arrow Articles by Hanson, M. S.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, March 1999, p. 1436-1443, Vol. 181, No. 5
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Identification and Characterization of SirA, an Iron-Regulated Protein from Staphylococcus aureus

Jon H. Heinrichs,1,* LaVette E. Gatlin,1 Charles Kunsch,2,dagger Gil H. Choi,2 and Mark S. Hanson1

MedImmune, Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland 20878,1 and Human Genome Sciences, Inc., Rockville, Maryland 208502

Received 6 August 1998/Accepted 17 December 1998

The acquisition of iron by pathogenic bacteria is often a crucial step in establishing infection. To accomplish this, many bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, produce low-molecular-weight iron-chelating siderophores. However, the secretion and transport of these molecules in gram-positive organisms are poorly understood. The sequence, organization, and regulation of genes involved in siderophore transport are conserved among gram-negative bacteria. We used this information to identify a putative siderophore transport locus from an S. aureus genomic sequence database. This locus contains three predicted open reading frames with a high degree of homology to genes involved in siderophore uptake in several bacterial species, in particular the cbr locus of the plant pathogen Erwinia chrysanthemi. The first gene in the locus, which we have designated sir for staphylococcal iron regulated, encodes a putative lipoprotein with a molecular mass of 37 kDa. The open reading frame is preceded by a 19-bp region of dyad symmetry with homology for operator sequences controlling iron-regulated expression of genes in other bacteria. Fur titration experiments indicate that this region of dyad symmetry is sufficient for Fur-dependent regulation in Escherichia coli. The expression of this gene was repressed, in a dose-dependent manner, by the addition of iron to the S. aureus culture medium. sir-encoded proteins may be involved in iron acquisition in vivo and therefore may be targets for antimicrobial agents.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: MedImmune, Inc., 35 W. Watkins Mill Rd., Gaithersburg, MD 20878. Phone: (301) 527-4433. Fax: (301) 527-4200. E-mail: heinrichsj{at}medimmune.com.

dagger Present address: AtheroGenics, Inc., Norcross, GA 30071.


Journal of Bacteriology, March 1999, p. 1436-1443, Vol. 181, No. 5
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Cuiv, P. O, Clarke, P., O'Connell, M. (2006). Identification and characterization of an iron-regulated gene, chtA, required for the utilization of the xenosiderophores aerobactin, rhizobactin 1021 and schizokinen by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.. Microbiology 152: 945-954 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Speziali, C. D., Dale, S. E., Henderson, J. A., Vines, E. D., Heinrichs, D. E. (2006). Requirement of Staphylococcus aureus ATP-Binding Cassette-ATPase FhuC for Iron-Restricted Growth and Evidence that It Functions with More than One Iron Transporter. J. Bacteriol. 188: 2048-2055 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Montanez, G. E., Neely, M. N., Eichenbaum, Z. (2005). The streptococcal iron uptake (Siu) transporter is required for iron uptake and virulence in a zebrafish infection model. Microbiology 151: 3749-3757 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Dale, S. E., Sebulsky, M. T., Heinrichs, D. E. (2004). Involvement of SirABC in Iron-Siderophore Import in Staphylococcus aureus. J. Bacteriol. 186: 8356-8362 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Skaar, E. P., Humayun, M., Bae, T., DeBord, K. L., Schneewind, O. (2004). Iron-Source Preference of Staphylococcus aureus Infections. Science 305: 1626-1628 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Dale, S. E., Doherty-Kirby, A., Lajoie, G., Heinrichs, D. E. (2004). Role of Siderophore Biosynthesis in Virulence of Staphylococcus aureus: Identification and Characterization of Genes Involved in Production of a Siderophore. Infect. Immun. 72: 29-37 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Brown, J. S., Gilliland, S. M., Ruiz-Albert, J., Holden, D. W. (2002). Characterization of Pit, a Streptococcus pneumoniae Iron Uptake ABC Transporter. Infect. Immun. 70: 4389-4398 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Morrissey, J. A., Cockayne, A., Hammacott, J., Bishop, K., Denman-Johnson, A., Hill, P. J., Williams, P. (2002). Conservation, Surface Exposure, and In Vivo Expression of the Frp Family of Iron-Regulated Cell Wall Proteins in Staphylococcus aureus. Infect. Immun. 70: 2399-2407 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Sebulsky, M. T., Heinrichs, D. E. (2001). Identification and Characterization of fhuD1 and fhuD2, Two Genes Involved in Iron-Hydroxamate Uptake in Staphylococcus aureus. J. Bacteriol. 183: 4994-5000 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Lindsay, J. A., Foster, S. J. (2001). zur: a Zn2+-responsive regulatory element of Staphylococcus aureus. Microbiology 147: 1259-1266 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Horsburgh, M. J., Ingham, E., Foster, S. J. (2001). In Staphylococcus aureus, Fur Is an Interactive Regulator with PerR, Contributes to Virulence, and Is Necessary for Oxidative Stress Resistance through Positive Regulation of Catalase and Iron Homeostasis. J. Bacteriol. 183: 468-475 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Morrissey, J. A., Cockayne, A., Hill, P. J., Williams, P. (2000). Molecular Cloning and Analysis of a Putative Siderophore ABC Transporter from Staphylococcus aureus. Infect. Immun. 68: 6281-6288 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Sebulsky, M. T., Hohnstein, D., Hunter, M. D., Heinrichs, D. E. (2000). Identification and Characterization of a Membrane Permease Involved in Iron-Hydroxamate Transport in Staphylococcus aureus. J. Bacteriol. 182: 4394-4400 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Xiong, A., Singh, V. K., Cabrera, G., Jayaswal, R. K. (2000). Molecular characterization of the ferric-uptake regulator, Fur, from Staphylococcus aureus. Microbiology 146: 659-668 [Abstract] [Full Text]