<i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> exhibits heterogeneous siderophore production within the vertebrate host.

Perry, William J; Spraggins, Jeffrey M; Sheldon, Jessica R; Grunenwald, Caroline M; Heinrichs, David E; Cassat, James E; Skaar, Eric P; Caprioli, Richard M · Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A · 2019

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Siderophores, iron-scavenging small molecules, are fundamental to bacterial nutrient metal acquisition and enable pathogens to overcome challenges imposed by nutritional immunity. Multimodal imaging mass spectrometry allows visualization of host-pathogen iron competition, by mapping siderophores within infected tissue. We have observed heterogeneous distributions of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> siderophores across infectious foci, challenging the paradigm that the vertebrate host is a uniformly iron-depleted environment to invading microbes.

Medical subject headings