Iron is necessary for many cellular processes such as the electron transport chain and gene regulation. However, most iron on earth is found in insoluble iron-hydroxide complexes. In addition, iron is tightly sequestered in the human body by proteins such as transferrin, making it unavailable for pathogens. In order to overcome these limitations bacteria have evolved siderophores. Siderophores are low molecular weight compounds that bind ferric iron with a high affinity. Staphylococcus aureus is an important human pathogen that is known to produce at least four siderophores, and these siderophores contribute to its virulence. S. aureus strain H372 was found to produce a siderophore that was a carboxylate type, hydrophilic, and contained ornithine. These properties were similar to the known siderophore staphyloferrin A. However, the probable molecular weight was 658, which is different from known staphylococcal siderophores.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:etd-3083 |
| Date | 13 August 2010 |
| Creators | Presswood, Rachel Elizabeth |
| Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
| Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Electronic Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | Copyright by the authors. |
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