National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 21(113), p. 5850-5855, 2016
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Significance Almost all bacteria require Fe(III) for survival and growth. To compete successfully for this essential nutrient, bacteria developed very efficient Fe(III) uptake mechanisms based on high-affinity Fe(III) chelators, so-called siderophores. To gain a competitive advantage, many bacteria have evolved to scavenge and effectively poach siderophores from other species. Enterobactin, one of the strongest Fe(III) chelators known, is produced and secreted by many enteric bacteria. We show that a key protein involved in Fe(III) uptake in the foodborne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni is adapted to scavenge enterobactin hydrolysis products, a strategy that may enable the pathogen to more efficiently exploit siderophores produced by other bacteria and hence their resources.