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Response of Gram-positive bacteria to copper stress

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Abstract

The Gram-positive bacteria Enterococcus hirae, Lactococcus lactis, and Bacillus subtilis have received wide attention in the study of copper homeostasis. Consequently, copper extrusion by ATPases, gene regulation by copper, and intracellular copper chaperoning are understood in some detail. This has provided profound insight into basic principles of how organisms handle copper. It also emerged that many bacterial species may not require copper for life, making copper homeostatic systems pure defense mechanisms. Structural work on copper homeostatic proteins has given insight into copper coordination and bonding and has started to give molecular insight into copper handling in biological systems. Finally, recent biochemical work has shed new light on the mechanism of copper toxicity, which may not primarily be mediated by reactive oxygen radicals.

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Acknowledgments

Some of the work described in this review was supported by grant 3100A0_122551 from the Swiss National Foundation and a grant from the International Copper Association.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Visceral Research, University of Berne, Murtenstrasse 35, 3010, Berne, Switzerland

    Marc Solioz, Helge K. Abicht, Mélanie Mermod & Stefano Mancini

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  1. Marc Solioz
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  2. Helge K. Abicht
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Correspondence to Marc Solioz.

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This article will be printed in the upcoming Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry special issue CELL BIOLOGY OF COPPER.

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Solioz, M., Abicht, H.K., Mermod, M. et al. Response of Gram-positive bacteria to copper stress. J Biol Inorg Chem 15, 3–14 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00775-009-0588-3

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