Bioinformatic Analysis of Iron Acquisition Systems in Bacillus anthracis

摘要

Iron is an essential nutrient for almost all microorganisms and its limitation is one of the most important host defense mechanisms against microbial infection. Iron is also a well-known mediator of bacterial virulence. Identification and characterization of iron acquisition systems in Bacillus anthracis will improve our understanding of virulence and disease mechanisms. Sequencing of several B. anthracis strains (Ames, A2012, Sterne) and closely related species B. cereus and B. thuringiensis allowed us to perform genome-wide analysis of the iron acquisition system. We used a combination of approaches and have identified more than 30 operons that may be involved in iron acquisition such as ferric uptake, ferrous uptake, heme uptake, siderophore biosynthesis, and other operons that may be regulated by Fur proteins. We also performed comparative analysis among Bacillus spp. and identified several species-specific iron acquisition systems.