Open AccessA genetic locus involved in iron utilization unique to some Campylobacter strains
Author(s) -
Patricia Guerry,
José Perez-Casal,
Ruijin Yao,
Annette L. McVeigh,
Trevor J. Trust
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of bacteriology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.652
H-Index - 246
eISSN - 1067-8832
pISSN - 0021-9193
DOI - 10.1128/jb.179.12.3997-4002.1997
Subject(s) - biology , ferrichrome , campylobacter jejuni , campylobacter , siderophore , gene , mutant , hemin , bacterial outer membrane , locus (genetics) , microbiology and biotechnology , enterobactin , escherichia coli , genetics , bacteria , heme , biochemistry , enzyme
Two genes involved in iron utilization in Campylobacter coli VC167 T1 have been characterized. The cfrA gene encodes a protein with a predicted Mr of 77,653 which, after processing of the leader sequence, has a predicted Mr of 75,635. This protein has significant sequence identity to siderophore receptors of several bacteria, and site-specific mutants defective in cfrA do not synthesize one of two major iron-repressible outer membrane proteins. An adjacent gene encodes a TonB-like protein; a mutant in this gene lost the ability to utilize hemin, ferrichrome, and enterochelin as iron sources. The cfrA and tonB genes of VC167 T1 hybridized to all strains of C. coli and most strains of C. jejuni examined but did not hybridize to several other strains of C. jejuni, suggesting that the thermophilic campylobacters can be separated into two categories based on the presence of these two iron utilization genes.