Iron

Abstract

Fe is an essential micronutrient for Brucella strains. Meeting their physiologic need for this metal is especially challenging for these bacteria because they live in close association with their mammalian hosts, and Fe-sequestration is a well-documented host defense against microbial pathogens. The following chapter will describe what is presently known about Fe homeostasis in Brucella strains, and how the individual cellular components involved in this process contribute to virulence.