ANALYSIS OF BACTERIAL RECEPTORS FOR HOST IRON-BINDING PROTEINS

There have been various reports in the literature on the recognition and/or identfication of bacterial receptors for host iron-binding molecules. Circumstantial evidence for the role of the putative receptor proteins has been provided by correlations between studies on utilization of iron and binding of iron-binding molecules, and, in a few instances, direct evidence has been provided by genetic means. In this paper we attempt to describe the various approaches that have been utilized for assessing acquisiton of iron, binding of ligand and identification of receptor proteins and discuss some of the advantages and limitations of the available approaches. The nature of the question being addressed will determine which of the available approaches is appropriate and may lead to development of alternative methods.