Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
4359066 | Research in Microbiology | 2011 | 6 Pages |
Abstract
New putative iron-uptake genes were identified in published genomes of the opportunistic human pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii, and their occurrence was determined in a genotypically distinct collection of 50 clinical isolates by PCR and Southern blot assays. The results demonstrated that all A. baumannii isolates tested share the coding potential for two endogenous siderophores, a heme-acquisition and a ferrous iron-uptake system. A second heme-uptake cluster was detected in almost two thirds of isolates, without any apparent correlation with the clonal lineage of the strains. The wide distribution of multiple iron-acquisition systems among diverse A. baumannii clinical isolates argues for a contribution of iron uptake to the pathogenicity of this species.
Keywords
Related Topics
Life Sciences
Immunology and Microbiology
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
Authors
LuÃsa C.S. Antunes, Francesco Imperi, Kevin J. Towner, Paolo Visca,