Siderophore-mediated iron acquisition from transferrin by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa placed across a dialysis membrane from [55Fe]transferrin caused the mobilization of the iron from the transferrin side to the bacterial or dialysate side of the membrane. Although the bacteria were capable of obtaining iron from transferrin for growth, the siderophores of P. aeruginosa failed to convert iron bound to transferrin into dialyzable, low-molecular-weight chelates. The crucial factor produced by the bacteria which was not present when the siderophores were added alone was the acid produced from the glucose minimal medium. The siderophores mobilized considerable iron from transferrin when used in the dialysis assay at pH values between 5.0 and 6.0, values which were commonly found during incubation of bacteria in the assays. When the siderophores were tested individually, pyoverdin was more effective than pyochelin in mobilizing iron across dialysis membranes at pH values of 5.0 and 6.0, but neither had appreciable activity at pH 7.4. The amounts of iron mobilized from conalbumin were comparable to the amounts from transferrin, but there was negligible release from lactoferrin at the three pH values. When the two siderophores were combined, the level of iron mobilization was identical to that demonstrated by pyoverdin alone. When the dialysis membrane was removed and the bacteria were mixed with the siderophores and transferrin, pyoverdin was again more active than pyochelin in mediating iron transport. Although no pyochelin-mediated iron mobilization could be detected at pH 7.4, there was transport. Therefore, the bacteria appeared to be aiding the siderophores in iron mobilization from transferrin.

Effects of siderophores on the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in human serum and transferrin.

A combination of the siderophores produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, pyochelin and pyoverdin, dramatically stimulates the growth of this bacterium in medium containing human transferrin. The amount of growth stimulation observed when each siderophore was added alone was only slightly less than the amount observed with the combination. Siderophore-defective mutants of strain PAO1 were isolated to test the effects of siderophore production on growth in transferrin and human serum. The pyoverdin-proficient (Pvd+), pyochelin-deficient (Pch-) strain (IA5) grows just as well as the parent (PAO1), which produces both siderophores. On the other hand, the Pvd- Pch+ strain (211-5) has severely retarded growth, similar to that demonstrated by a mutant lacking production of both siderophores (IA1), but has an accelerated log phase compared with strain IA1 at the later stages of the growth curve. However, the Pvd- Pch+ strain (211-5) had no observable advantage over the Pvd- Pch- strain, IA1, during incubation in human serum. The inability of P. aeruginosa strains to produce pyochelin in glucose-minimal medium may explain the poor growth of 211-5 in this medium and in human serum. The 211-5 strain grows much better than the IA1 strain in the medium that allows pyochelin synthesis, but it still does not grow as well as the Pvd+ Pch- strain (IA5). Therefore, pyoverdin appears to be the most important siderophore for growth in human serum.