Abstract
It is of great interest to study the iron response of the �-proteobacterium Shewanella oneidensis since it possesses a high content of iron and is capable of utilizing iron for anaerobic respiration. We report here that the iron response in S. oneidensis is a rapid process. To gain more insights into the bacterial response to iron, temporal gene expression profiles were examined for iron depletion and repletion, resulting in identification of iron-responsive biological pathways in a gene co-expression network. Iron acquisition systems, including genes unique to S. oneidensis, were rapidly and strongly induced by iron depletion, and repressed by iron repletion. Some were required for iron depletion, as exemplified by the mutational analysis of the putative siderophore biosynthesis protein SO3032. Unexpectedly, a number of genes related to anaerobic energy metabolism were repressed by iron depletion and induced by repletion, which might be due to the iron storage potential of their protein products. Other iron-responsive biological pathways include protein degradation, aerobic energy metabolism and protein synthesis. Furthermore, sequence motifs enriched in gene clusters as well as their corresponding DNA-binding proteins (Fur, CRP and RpoH) were identified, resulting in a regulatory network of iron response in S. oneidensis. Together, this work provides an overview of iron response and reveals novel features in S. oneidensis, including Shewanella-specific iron acquisition systems, and suggests the intimate relationship between anaerobic energy metabolism and iron response.