Pathogenic Microbiology Commons^™

Iron And Copper Homeostasis In Staphylococcus Aureus, Holly A. Laakso

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

All microorganisms require transition metals for key metabolic processes, thus during infection microbial access to essential metals is tightly regulated by the host in a process termed nutritional immunity. Iron acquisition is critical to the pathogenesis of the formidable human pathogen, Staphylococcus aureus, which utilizes heme-uptake systems and two high-affinity iron-scavenging siderophores, staphyloferrin A (SA) and staphyloferrin B (SB) for iron acquisition. In this study, I identify sbnI as encoding a transcription factor required for expression of genes in the sbn operon, the biosynthetic operon for SB synthesis. I also show that SbnI is a novel hemoprotein, where binding …

Iron Acquisition Strategies Employed By Staphylococcus Lugdunensis, Jeremy R. Brozyna

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Iron is crucial for many cellular processes including DNA synthesis and respiration. The majority of iron in mammals is in heme within hemoproteins, inside cells, or transported through circulation by the glycoprotein transferrin, which constitutes the greatest iron source in serum. Limiting iron availability is an important facet of nutritional immunity to help prevent infection.

Staphylococcus lugdunensis is a human skin commensal and opportunistic pathogen capable of causing a variety of infections, including particularly aggressive endocarditis. It is an emerging pathogen with elevated virulence compared to other species of coagulase-negative staphylococci. The versatility of S. lugdunensis to infect multiple niches …