Which bacterial regulatory system is activated under iron-limited conditions?
Iron is essential micronutrient serving as cofactor for cytochromes of electron transport chain, iron-sulfur proteins like ferredoxin and aconitase, heme enzymes and many dehydratases yet its free concentration is extremely limited in host due to sequestration by transferrin, lactoferrin and ferritin and is toxic at high levels via Fenton reaction generating hydroxyl radicals. Under iron-limited conditions commonly encountered in serum and mucosal surfaces, bacteria derepress high-affinity iron acquisition machineries controlled by Ferric uptake regulator Fur, a global metalloregulatory protei
Ref: Madigan et al., Brock Biology of Microorganisms, 16th ed., Chapter 7: Fur System and Iron Limitation Response.
