Dependence of Staphylococcus epidermidis on non-transferrin-bound iron for growth

• Published in: FEMS microbiology letters Vol. 196; no. 2; pp. 177 - 182
• Main Authors: Matinaho, Sanna, von Bonsdorff, Leni, Rouhiainen, Ari, Lönnroth, Maarit, Parkkinen, Jaakko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 15.03.2001; Blackwell; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Bacteria; Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Transport; Cell Count; Dependence; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Iron; Iron - blood; Iron - metabolism; Iron - therapeutic use; Kinetics; Microbiology; Non‐transferrin‐bound iron; Pathogenicity, virulence, toxins, bacteriocins, pyrogens, host-bacteria relations, miscellaneous strains; Saturation; Siderophores - analysis; Staphylococcal Infections - microbiology; Staphylococcus epidermidis; Staphylococcus epidermidis - growth & development; Staphylococcus epidermidis - metabolism; Staphylococcus epidermidis - pathogenicity; Strains (organisms); Transferrin; Transferrin - metabolism; Transferrins; Non-transferrin-bound iron; Transferrin; Iron; Microorganism growth; Staphylococcus epidermidis; Siderophore; Bacteria; Micrococcales; Micrococcaceae
• ISSN: 0378-1097; 1574-6968
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2001.tb10561.x

Abstract The ability of Staphylococcus epidermidis strains to grow in the presence of human transferrin and varying amounts of ferric iron was studied. At initial bacterial densities up to 104 cfu ml−1, none of the three strains grew when transferrin iron saturation was below the full saturation point, whereas the bacteria grew consistently when transferrin was fully iron-saturated and there was non-transferrin-bound iron in the medium. Precultivation of the bacteria under iron-restricted conditions to induce siderophore production did not abolish the growth dependence on non-transferrin-bound iron. At initial bacterial densities of 106 cfu ml−1, the bacteria proliferated consistently also in the presence of partially saturated transferrin. The results indicate that at low bacterial densities, S. epidermidis cannot utilise transferrin-bound iron for growth and that its proliferation is dependent on non-transferrin-bound iron.