Metabolic defects caused by mutations in the isc gene cluster in Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium: implications for thiamine synthesis.

The metabolic consequences of two insertions, iscR1::MudJ and iscA2::MudJ, in the isc gene cluster of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium were studied. Each of these insertions had polar effects and caused a nutritional requirement for the thiazole moiety of thiamine. Data showed that IscS was required for the synthesis of nicotinic acid and the thiazole moiety of thiamine and that one or more additional isc gene products were required for a distinct step in the thiazole biosynthetic pathway. Strains with isc lesions had reduced succinate dehydrogenase and aconitase activities. Furthermore, isc mutants accumulated increased levels of pyruvate in the growth medium in response to exogenously added iron (FeCl(3)), and this response required a functional ferric uptake regulator, Fur.