The structure-activity relationship of ferric pyoverdine bound to its outer membrane transporter: Implications for the mechanism of iron uptake

The mechanism of interaction of the siderophore pyoverdine I (PvdI) and ferric pyoverdine I (Pvd i-Fe) with the specific outer membrane transporter (FpvAI) was investigated by synthesizing various analogues of the siderophore and studying their ability to transport iron. Results reveal that the structure of PvdI seems to be more important for iron uptake than for binding of PvdI to FpvAI and that the efficiency of iron uptake is indicative that iron dissociates from Pvdi on FpvAI.