Metal ion biology
Metabolomic analysis of E. coli strains causing recurrent urinary tract infections found high levels of small molecules involved in iron scavenging called siderophores. These virulence-associated bacterial systems and co-evolved host functions are the subjects of biochemical and microbiological studies using quantitative mass spectrometry, chemical biology, bacterial genetics, and mouse models of infection. Together, these studies provide new window into infection biology while also suggesting new therapeutic and diagnostic strategies for antibiotic resistant bacterial infections.
Schematic of copper-binding siderophore functions at the interface between yersiniabactin-expressing bacteria and white blood cells.