BINDING OF HOST IRON-BINDING PROTEINS AND EXPRESSION OF IRON-REGULATED MEMBRANE-PROTEINS BY DIFFERENT SEROTYPES OF PASTEURELLA-MULTOCIDA CAUSING HEMORRHAGIC SEPTICEMIA

Pasteurella multocida strains of serotype B: 2,5, B: 3,4 and E: 2,5 ar e associated with haemorrhagic septicaemia in domestic and feral rumin ants. These strains were investigated for their ability to bind transf errin, lactoferrin and haemoglobin and for their ability to use these host iron-binding proteins as a source of iron. All strains bound haem oglobin, none of the strains bound lactoferrin, whereas transferrin bi nding was restricted to serotype B: 2,5 strains. Growth experiments in dicated that transferrin (serotype B: 2,5) and haemoglobin could resto re bacterial growth under iron-depleted conditions. Two distinct serot ype-independent profiles of iron-regulated membrane proteins were expr essed in vitro as well as in vivo. (C) 1996 Academic Press Limited