Open AccessDependence of Staphylococcus epidermidis on non‐transferrin‐bound iron for growth
Author(s) -
Matinaho Sanna,
Bonsdorff Leni,
Rouhiainen Ari,
Lönnroth Maarit,
Parkkinen Jaakko
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2001.tb10561.x
Subject(s) - transferrin , transferrin saturation , siderophore , bacteria , staphylococcus epidermidis , bacterial growth , ferric , saturation (graph theory) , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , biochemistry , biology , staphylococcus aureus , ferritin , inorganic chemistry , mathematics , combinatorics , serum ferritin , genetics
The ability of Staphylococcus epidermidis strains to grow in the presence of human transferrin and varying amounts of ferric iron was studied. At initial bacterial densities up to 10 4 cfu ml −1 , none of the three strains grew when transferrin iron saturation was below the full saturation point, whereas the bacteria grew consistently when transferrin was fully iron‐saturated and there was non‐transferrin‐bound iron in the medium. Precultivation of the bacteria under iron‐restricted conditions to induce siderophore production did not abolish the growth dependence on non‐transferrin‐bound iron. At initial bacterial densities of 10 6 cfu ml −1 , the bacteria proliferated consistently also in the presence of partially saturated transferrin. The results indicate that at low bacterial densities, S. epidermidis cannot utilise transferrin‐bound iron for growth and that its proliferation is dependent on non‐transferrin‐bound iron.