Copper tolerance in bacteria requires the activation of multiple accessory pathways

Giachino, A; Waldron, KJ

Abstract

Copper is a required micronutrient for bacteria and an essential cofactor for redox-active cuproenzymes. Yet, excess copper is extremely toxic, and is exploited as a bacteriocide in medical and biotechnological applications and also by the mammalian immune system. To evade copper toxicity, bacteria not only control intracellular copper homeostasis, but they must also repair the damage caused by excess copper. In this review, we summarize the bacterial cell-wide response to copper toxicity in Enterobacteria. Tapping into the abundant research data on two key organisms, Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica, we show that copper resistance requires both the direct copper homeostatic response and also the indirect accessory pathways that deal with copper-induced damage. Since patterns of copper response are conserved through the Proteobacteria, we propose a cell-wide view of copper detoxification and copper tolerance that can be used to identify novel targets for copper-based antibacterial therapeutics.

Citation

Giachino, A., & Waldron, K. (2020). Copper tolerance in bacteria requires the activation of multiple accessory pathways. Molecular Microbiology, 114(3), 377-390. https://doi.org/10.1111/mmi.14522

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 20, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Apr 23, 2020
• Publication Date: Apr 23, 2020
• Deposit Date: Nov 1, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 1, 2022
• Journal: Molecular Microbiology
• Print ISSN: 0950-382X
• Publisher: Wiley
• Volume: 114
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 377-390
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/mmi.14522
• Publisher URL: http://doi.org/10.1111/mmi.14522