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Defense Date
2007
DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/9KPE-ZA89
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Microbiology & Immunology
First Advisor
Dr. Cynthia Cornelissen
Abstract
FbpA is the periplasmic binding protein of the transferrin and lactoferrin-iron transport systems. FbpA is conserved among neisserial species and is required for Neisseria gonorrhoeae to sustain growth on transferrin and lactoferrin. The identification of other putative TonB-dependent outer membrane transporters suggests that gonococci may employ other uncharacterized iron uptake systems that do not require FbpA. Previous work in our lab demonstrated that gonococcal strain FA19 utilizes iron from a number of xenosiderophores of the catecholate and hydroxamate classes. In this study we created conditional FbpA mutants to evaluate whether FbpA plays a role in the ability of gonococci to utilize iron from xenosiderophores. Strain FA19 was able to acquire iron from the xenosiderophores enterobactin and salmochelin in an FbpA-dependent and TonB-independent manner. We were also able to detect an extracellular population of FbpA indicating that FbpA may play a novel role in the internalization of iron in the absence of a dedicated transporter.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
June 2008
VCU Only:
Off Campus Download
Comments
Part of Retrospective ETD Collection, restricted to VCU only.