A Novel Metal Transporter Mediating Manganese Export (MntX) Regulates the Mn to Fe Intracellular Ratio and Neisseria meningitidis Virulence
Figure 5
A) MntX depletes E. coli intracellular metal pools. The E. coli K-12 strain Δfur PmntH::luc emits light upon intracellular metal depletion with the divalent metal chelator 2,2′-Dipyridyl (DP). This process is suppressed by co-incubation of DP with divalent metals, therefore allowing monitoring potential metal export activity. Plasmid-driven expression of MntX was induced with L-arabinose. Each bar represents the average of four independent measurements and is representative of several experiments B and C) ICP-MS quantification of divalent metals contents (Mg, Mn, and Fe), for strains of N. meningitidis and N. gonorrhoeae harboring mntXNm (black bars) or not (white bars) and grown in rich medium. The data are expressed in ratio Mn/Mg in B and Mn/Fe in C. Each bar represents the average of three independent measurements for N. meningitidis and two for N. gonorrhoeae (*** p<0.01).