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Publication Abstract from PubMed

Iron is a limiting nutrient in bacterial infection putting it at the centre of an evolutionary arms race between host and pathogen. Gram-negative bacteria utilize TonB-dependent outer membrane receptors to obtain iron during infection. These receptors acquire iron either in concert with soluble iron-scavenging siderophores or through direct interaction and extraction from host proteins. Characterization of these receptors provides invaluable insight into pathogenesis. However, only a subset of virulence-related TonB-dependent receptors have been currently described. Here we report the discovery of FusA, a new class of TonB-dependent receptor, which is utilized by phytopathogenic Pectobacterium spp. to obtain iron from plant ferredoxin. Through the crystal structure of FusA we show that binding of ferredoxin occurs through specialized extracellular loops that form extensive interactions with ferredoxin. The function of FusA and the presence of homologues in clinically important pathogens suggests that small iron-containing proteins represent an iron source for bacterial pathogens.

Structure of the bacterial plant-ferredoxin receptor FusA.,Grinter R, Josts I, Mosbahi K, Roszak AW, Cogdell RJ, Bonvin AM, Milner JJ, Kelly SM, Byron O, Smith BO, Walker D Nat Commun. 2016 Oct 31;7:13308. doi: 10.1038/ncomms13308. PMID:27796364^[1]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.