Iron Homeostasis in Brucella abortus: the Role of Bacterioferritin

Marta A. Almirón; Rodolfo A. Ugalde

doi:10.1007/s12275-010-0145-3

Articles

Page Path: HOME > J. Microbiol > Volume 48(5); 2010 > Article

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Iron Homeostasis in Brucella abortus: the Role of Bacterioferritin: Marta A. Almirón , Rodolfo A. Ugalde; Journal of Microbiology 2010;48(5):668-673.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-010-0145-3
Published online: November 3, 2010

Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas (IIB, INTECH), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad Nacional de San Martín (CONICET-UNSAM), Buenos Aires 1650, Argentina

Corresponding author: Marta A. Almirón , Tel: +5411-4580-7255,

Received: 15 April 2010 • Accepted: 24 June 2010

prev next

300 Views
0 Download
10 Crossref
15 Scopus

Full Article

Download PDF

Abstract

Brucella abortus is the etiological agent of bovine brucellosis, an infectious disease of humans and cattle. Its pathogenesis is mainly based on its ability to survive and multiply inside macrophages. It has been demonstrated that if B. abortus ferrochelatase cannot incorporate iron into protoporphyrin IX to synthesize heme, the intracellular replication and virulence in mice is highly attenuated. Therefore, it can be hypothesized that the unavailability of iron could lead to the same attenuation in B. abortus pathogenicity. Thus, the purpose of this work was to obtain a B. abortus derivative unable to keep an internal iron pool and test its ability to replicate under iron limitation. To achieve this, we searched for iron-storage proteins in the genome of brucellae and found bacterioferritin (Bfr) as the sole ferritin encoded. Then, a B. abortus bfr mutant was built up and its capacity to store iron and replicate under iron limitation was investigated. Results indicated that B. abortus Bfr accounts for 70% of the intracellular iron content. Under iron limitation, the bfr mutant suffered from enhanced iron restriction with respect to wild type according to its growth retardation pattern, enhanced sensitivity to oxidative stress, accelerated production of siderophores, and altered expression of membrane proteins. Nonetheless, the bfr mutant was able to adapt and replicate even inside eukaryotic cells, indicating that B. abortus responds to internal iron starvation before sensing external iron availability. This suggests an active role of Bfr in controlling iron homeostasis through the availability of Bfr-bound iron.

Keywords: bacterioferritin;Brucella;siderophores;oxidative stress;iron homeostasis

Figure & Data

References

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Brucellosis: Bacteriology, pathogenesis, epidemiology and role of the metallophores in virulence: a review
Ghassan Ghssein, Zeinab Ezzeddine, Sima Tokajian, Charbel Al Khoury, Hussein Kobeissy, Jose-Noel Ibrahim, Christelle Iskandar, Hussein F. Hassan
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Comparative analysis of Brucella melitensis whole cell proteomes for diagnosis of human brucellosis
Sudipta Patra, Chaitanya Tellapragada, Prachi Pathak, M. Kameswara Rao, Vandana Eshwara Kalwaje, Duraipandian Thavaselvam, Chiranjay Mukhopadhyay
The Indian Journal of Medical Research.2025; 162: 644. CrossRef
The Pseudogene BMEA_B0173 Deficiency in Brucella melitensis Contributes to M-epitope Formation and Potentiates Virulence in a Mice Infection Model
Ge Zhang, Hao Dong, Yu Feng, Hui Jiang, Tonglei Wu, Jiali Sun, Xin Wang, Minghe Liu, Xiaowei Peng, Yinghui Zhang, Xiaoqian Zhang, Liangquan Zhu, Jiabo Ding, Xingjia Shen
Current Microbiology.2022;[Epub] CrossRef
The Irr and RirA Proteins Participate in a Complex Regulatory Circuit and Act in Concert To Modulate Bacterioferritin Expression in Ensifer meliloti 1021
Daniela Costa, Vanesa Amarelle, Claudio Valverde, Mark R. O'Brian, Elena Fabiano, Robert M. Kelly
Applied and Environmental Microbiology.2017;[Epub] CrossRef
Transcriptome Analysis of the Intracellular Facultative Pathogen Piscirickettsia salmonis: Expression of Putative Groups of Genes Associated with Virulence and Iron Metabolism
Alvaro Machuca, Victor Martinez, James E Samuel
PLOS ONE.2016; 11(12): e0168855. CrossRef
Role and regulation of ferritin-like proteins in iron homeostasis and oxidative stress survival of Caulobacter crescentus
Ivan Gonçalves de Castro Ferreira, Mirian Molnar Rodrigues, José Freire da Silva Neto, Ricardo Ruiz Mazzon, Marilis do Valle Marques
BioMetals.2016; 29(5): 851. CrossRef
Quantitative analysis of the Brucella suis proteome reveals metabolic adaptation to long-term nutrient starvation
Sascha Al Dahouk, Véronique Jubier-Maurin, Heinrich Neubauer, Stephan Köhler
BMC Microbiology.2013; 13(1): 199. CrossRef
Adaptation of Salmonella enterica Hadar under static magnetic field: effects on outer membrane protein pattern
Sarra Snoussi, Alya El May, Laurent Coquet, Philippe Chan, Thierry Jouenne, Ahmed Landoulsi, Emmanuelle DÉ
Proteome Science.2012;[Epub] CrossRef
Iron Storage Proteins Are Essential for the Survival and Pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in THP-1 Macrophages and the Guinea Pig Model of Infection
P. Vineel Reddy, Rupangi Verma Puri, Aparna Khera, Anil K. Tyagi
Journal of Bacteriology.2012; 194(3): 567. CrossRef
Metal acquisition and virulence inBrucella
R. Martin Roop
Animal Health Research Reviews.2012; 13(1): 10. CrossRef

Cite this Article

Cite this Article: export Copy Download Format; Close

Download Citation

Download a citation file in RIS format that can be imported by all major citation management software, including EndNote, ProCite, RefWorks, and Reference Manager.

Format:

RIS — For EndNote, ProCite, RefWorks, and most other reference management software
BibTeX — For JabRef, BibDesk, and other BibTeX-specific software

Include:

Citation for the content below
Citation and abstract for the content below

Iron Homeostasis in Brucella abortus: the Role of Bacterioferritin

J. Microbiol. 2010;48(5):668-673. Published online November 3, 2010

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-010-0145-3

Related articles