Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Sub-Department

College of Arts and Sciences

First Advisor

F. Wayne Outten

Abstract

Iron metabolism is an integral part of life for most organisms. Despite its essentiality, iron can also become toxic. There are many aspects to maintaining iron balance within the cell. The aim of this work is to provide insight into the function of several components involved in bacterial iron homeostasis. This work is significant for the development of novel antibiotics for treating resistant or pathogenic bacteria. Herein, it is shown that nickel can disrupt normal bacterial iron metabolism and that bacterial resistance can be affected by expression of iron acquisition genes. Once iron is obtained by the cell, it can be used to synthesize iron-sulfur clusters which are incorporated into many metalloenzymes. The shuttling of iron-sulfur clusters is carried out by A-Type carrier proteins and glutaredoxins. This important step is required for bacterial cell survival and provides another novel target for the development of drug treatment options.

Rights

© 2018, Clorissa L. Washington – Hughes

Included in

Chemistry Commons

Share

COinS