Aerobactin-Mediated Iron Acquisition Enhances Biofilm Formation, Oxidative Stress Resistance, and Virulence of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis

Abstract

Aerobactin is a citrate-hydroxamate siderophore that is critical for the virulence of pathogenic enteric bacteria. However, although the aerobactin-producing iucABCD-iutA operon is distributed widely in the genomes of Yersinia species, none of the pathogenic Yersinia spp. was found to produce aerobactin. Here, we showed that the iucABCD-iutA operon in the food-borne enteric pathogen Yersinia pseudotuberculosis YPIII is a functional siderophore system involved in iron acquisition. The expression of the operon was found to be directly repressed by the ferric uptake regulator (Fur) in an iron concentration-dependent manner. In addition, we demonstrated that the aerobactin-mediated iron acquisition contributes to bacterial growth under iron-limited conditions. Moreover, we provided evidence that aerobactin plays important roles in biofilm formation, resistance to oxidative stress, ROS removal, and virulence of Y. pseudotuberculosis. Overall, our study not only uncovered a novel strategy of iron acquisition in Y. pseudotuberculosis but also highlighted the importance of aerobactin in the pathogenesis of Y. pseudotuberculosis.

Proteomic and Transcriptomic Analyses Indicate Reduced Biofilm-Forming Abilities in Cefiderocol-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae

“…It is reported that PiuA and PirA and their homologs in the TBDRs of A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa are involved in the uptake of siderophore-beta-lactam drug conjugates ( Luscher et al, 2018 ). Several proteins and genes related to acquisition of iron ions, iron uptake systems and ferric aerobactin receptors have been reported to promote biofilm formation ( Kang and Kirienko, 2018 ; Li et al, 2021 ). It was found in our study that iron uptake system component efeO , tonB-dependent receptor fecA , and ferric iron ABC transporter fbpA were down-regulated in both proteomic or transcriptomic analyses.…”

Similarities in Virulence and Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase Gene Profiles among Cefotaxime-Resistant Escherichia coli Wastewater and Clinical Isolates

“…The production of aerobactin has been associated with increased virulence and relapse episodes of urinary tract infections [ 66 , 67 ]. Under iron-limiting and oxidative stress conditions, aerobactin has increased biofilm formation and hydrogen peroxide resistance respectively [ 68 ]. When the whole-genome sequence was analyzed with PathogenFinder [ 69 ], E. coli 1000C-3 matched 663 pathogenic families, resulting in a pathogen probability of 0.919.…”

The pan‐genome of Splendidus clade species in the familyVibrionaceae: Insights into evolution, adaptation, and pathogenicity

“…ABC transporter complex FhuCDB involved in Fe 3 + ‐hydroxamate import, responsible for energy coupling to the transport system (Schultz‐Hauser et al, 1992), and genes ddhABCD for the conversion of glucose‐1‐phosphate to CDP‐4‐keto‐3,6‐dideoxy‐ d ‐glucose (Pacinelli et al, 2002), were absent in V. echinoideorum compared to V. lentus . While, the aerobactin‐producing iucABCD‐iutA operon was inserted in the genome of V. kanaloae compared to V. toranzoniae , aerobactin is a citrate‐hydroxamate siderophore that is important for the virulence of pathogenic enteric bacteria (Li et al, 2021).…”