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Mechanisms of copper homeostasis in bacteria

2013; Frontiers Media; Volume: 3; Linguagem: Inglês

10.3389/fcimb.2013.00073

2235-2988

José Argüello, Daniel Raimunda, Teresita Padilla‐Benavides,

Metal Extraction and Bioleaching

Copper is an important micronutrient required as a redox co-factor in the catalytic centers of enzymes. However, free copper is a potential hazard because of its high chemical reactivity. Consequently, organisms exert a tight control on Cu+ transport (entry-exit) and traffic through different compartments, ensuring the homeostasis required for cuproprotein synthesis and prevention of toxic effects. Recent studies based on biochemical, bioinformatics, and metalloproteomics approaches, reveal a highly regulated system of transcriptional regulators, soluble chaperones, membrane transporters and target cuproproteins distributed in the various bacterial compartments. As a result, new questions have emerged regarding the diversity and apparent redundancies of these components, their irregular presence in different organisms, functional interactions, and resulting system architectures.