Salmonella typhimurium IroN and FepA proteins mediate uptake of enterobactin but differ in their specificity for other siderophores.

Salmonella typhimurium possesses two outer membrane receptor proteins, IroN and FepA, which have been implicated in the uptake of enterobactin. To determine whether both receptors have identical substrate specificities, fepA and iroN mutants and a double mutant were characterized. While both receptors transported enterobactin, the uptake of corynebactin and myxochelin C was selectively mediated by IroN and FepA, respectively.