Acquisition of iron from transferrin by Bordetella pertussis.

It has been demonstrated that under iron-restricted conditions Bordetella pertussis can take up iron from human transferrin within 30 min of exposure. B. pertussis utilizes two mechanisms for acquiring iron from human transferrin, a direct contact method and a siderophore mediated system. Both systems are shown to result in bacterial internalization of iron from transferrin. However, direct contact between B. pertussis and transferrin provides far more effective iron uptake than siderophore activity alone.