Bacillibactin-Mediated Iron Transport in Bacillus subtilis

摘要

Iron,although the fourth most abundant metal in the earth's crust,is usually a growth-limiting nutrient for microorganisms,including many human pathogens.First characterized as iron transport agents in the 1960s,siderophores are low molecular weight chelators that are very selective for Fe~(3+).Enterobactin (Ent,Figure 1),produced primarily by Gram-negative bacteria,is perhaps the best understood siderophore and was thought to be unique in its iron affinity.