Manganese transport and its regulation in bacteria.

Regulation of manganese acquisition by bacteria occurs by both biochemical regulation of the activity of the transporters and transcriptional regulation of gene expression. Structural analysis suggests that calcium ions may regulate the function of an Mn ATP-binding cassette (ABC)-permease in Synechocystis 6803, a cyanobacterium, as well as in a number of other bacteria. The expression of genes encoding the manganese transporter in Synechocystis 6803 is regulated by a two-component signal-transduction mechanism that has not been previously observed for manganese and zinc transport in bacteria.