Open AccessMetal homeostasis in pathogenic Epsilonproteobacteria: mechanisms of acquisition, efflux, and regulation
Author(s) -
Brittni R. Kelley,
Jacky Lu,
Kathryn P. Haley,
Jennifer A. Gaddy,
Jeff S. Johnson
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
metallomics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1756-591X
pISSN - 1756-5901
DOI - 10.1093/mtomcs/mfaa002
Subject(s) - biology , campylobacter jejuni , microbiology and biotechnology , pathogen , human pathogen , virulence , proteobacteria , bacteria , gene , genetics , 16s ribosomal rna
Epsilonproteobacteria are a diverse class of eubacteria within the Proteobacteria phylum that includes environmental sulfur-reducing bacteria and the human pathogens, Campylobacter jejuni and Helicobacter pylori. These pathogens infect and proliferate within the gastrointestinal tracts of multiple animal hosts, including humans, and cause a variety of disease outcomes. While infection of these hosts provides nutrients for the pathogenic Epsilonproteobacteria, many hosts have evolved a variety of strategies to either sequester metals from the invading pathogen or exploit the toxicity of metals and drive their accumulation as an antimicrobial strategy. As a result, C. jejuni and H. pylori have developed mechanisms to sense changes in metal availability and regulate their physiology in order to respond to either metal limitation or accumulation. In this review, we will discuss the challenges of metal availability at the host-pathogen interface during infection with C. jejuni and H. pylori and describe what is currently known about how these organisms alter their gene expression and/or deploy bacterial virulence factors in response to these environments.