Constituents of human urine alter siderophore production of Escherichia coli.

Four uroisolates and four faecal isolates of Escherichia coli were randomly selected for studying the siderophore production in an iron-deficient, chemically defined, medium. Glucose, lactose, urea and creatinine were added individually, as well as in combination, to estimate their influence on siderophore production. No difference in siderophore production was observed between stool and urinary isolates of E. coli. Alterations in phenolate production were observed to be constituent-dependent while a uniformly significant increase in hydroxamate production (p < 0.05) was recorded after addition of the constituents, either each individually or in combination.