{"id":{"repo_id":"uwo","oai_identifier":"oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/30429"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uwo/oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/30429","repository":{"repo_id":"uwo","name":"Western University","base_url":"https://uwo.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Staphylococcus aureus small colony variants use heme and staphyloferrin B for iron acquisition","abstract":"Iron is an essential nutrient for the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Wild-type S. aureus utilizes various iron acquisition systems to support growth in iron deplete conditions. S. aureus small colony variants (SCVs) are associated with chronic infections, yet the mechanisms by which these variants acquire iron are unknown. Mutation of hemB, involved in heme biosynthesis, generated a stable SCV that was auxotrophic for hemin and formed small colonies on solid media. To support growth under iron deplete conditions, my data revealed that S. aureus hemB synthesizes the siderophore staphyloferrin B, but not staphyloferrin A, although both siderophores could be utilized by the hemB mutant if provided exogenously. Additionally, I demonstrated that the hemB mutant, in comparison to wild-type S. aureus, was defective for xenosiderophore utilization, including the clinically approved drug Desferal. This study yields important insight into the mechanisms by which S. aureus SCVs acquire iron to cause persistent infection.","abstract_html":"Iron is an essential nutrient for the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Wild-type S. aureus utilizes various iron acquisition systems to support growth in iron deplete conditions. S. aureus small colony variants (SCVs) are associated with chronic infections, yet the mechanisms by which these variants acquire iron are unknown. Mutation of hemB, involved in heme biosynthesis, generated a stable SCV that was auxotrophic for hemin and formed small colonies on solid media. To support growth under iron deplete conditions, my data revealed that S. aureus hemB synthesizes the siderophore staphyloferrin B, but not staphyloferrin A, although both siderophores could be utilized by the hemB mutant if provided exogenously. Additionally, I demonstrated that the hemB mutant, in comparison to wild-type S. aureus, was defective for xenosiderophore utilization, including the clinically approved drug Desferal. This study yields important insight into the mechanisms by which S. aureus SCVs acquire iron to cause persistent infection.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Batko, Izabela Z."],"institution":"The University of Western Ontario","degree_name":"M Sc","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Microbiology and Immunology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Heinrichs, David E."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-08-10","date_published":"2020-08-10","updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:55:58Z","subjects":["Staphylococcus aureus","small colony variant","SCV","hemB","iron acquisition","siderophores","infection"],"languages":["en_ca"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/30429","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Heinrichs, David E."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Batko, Izabela Z."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-07-10T18:40:49Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-07-10T18:40:49Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2020-08-10"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["The University of Western Ontario"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Microbiology and Immunology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M Sc"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Staphylococcus aureus","small colony variant","SCV","hemB","iron acquisition","siderophores","infection"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en_ca"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/30429"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["The thesis cover page in the PDF document includes references to Western University’s previous institutional repository platform, known as Scholarship@Western, and links to that platform (beginning with ir.lib.uwo.ca). In citing or referring to this thesis, use the DOI or handle from this page instead. Sample citation: Author name, \"Thesis title.\" (Year). Western University Open Repository. https://doi.org/10.71858/123456."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Iron is an essential nutrient for the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Wild-type S. aureus utilizes various iron acquisition systems to support growth in iron deplete conditions. S. aureus small colony variants (SCVs) are associated with chronic infections, yet the mechanisms by which these variants acquire iron are unknown. Mutation of hemB, involved in heme biosynthesis, generated a stable SCV that was auxotrophic for hemin and formed small colonies on solid media. To support growth under iron deplete conditions, my data revealed that S. aureus hemB synthesizes the siderophore staphyloferrin B, but not staphyloferrin A, although both siderophores could be utilized by the hemB mutant if provided exogenously. Additionally, I demonstrated that the hemB mutant, in comparison to wild-type S. aureus, was defective for xenosiderophore utilization, including the clinically approved drug Desferal. This study yields important insight into the mechanisms by which S. aureus SCVs acquire iron to cause persistent infection."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Staphylococcus aureus small colony variants use heme and staphyloferrin B for iron acquisition"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Heinrichs, David E."],"dc:creator":["Batko, Izabela Z."],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-07-10T18:40:49Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-07-10T18:40:49Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2020-08-10"],"dc:description":["The thesis cover page in the PDF document includes references to Western University’s previous institutional repository platform, known as Scholarship@Western, and links to that platform (beginning with ir.lib.uwo.ca). In citing or referring to this thesis, use the DOI or handle from this page instead. Sample citation: Author name, \"Thesis title.\" (Year). Western University Open Repository. https://doi.org/10.71858/123456."],"dc:description.abstract":["Iron is an essential nutrient for the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Wild-type S. aureus utilizes various iron acquisition systems to support growth in iron deplete conditions. S. aureus small colony variants (SCVs) are associated with chronic infections, yet the mechanisms by which these variants acquire iron are unknown. Mutation of hemB, involved in heme biosynthesis, generated a stable SCV that was auxotrophic for hemin and formed small colonies on solid media. To support growth under iron deplete conditions, my data revealed that S. aureus hemB synthesizes the siderophore staphyloferrin B, but not staphyloferrin A, although both siderophores could be utilized by the hemB mutant if provided exogenously. Additionally, I demonstrated that the hemB mutant, in comparison to wild-type S. aureus, was defective for xenosiderophore utilization, including the clinically approved drug Desferal. This study yields important insight into the mechanisms by which S. aureus SCVs acquire iron to cause persistent infection."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/30429"],"dc:language.iso":["en_ca"],"dc:publisher":["The University of Western Ontario"],"dc:subject":["Staphylococcus aureus","small colony variant","SCV","hemB","iron acquisition","siderophores","infection"],"dc:title":["Staphylococcus aureus small colony variants use heme and staphyloferrin B for iron acquisition"],"dc:type":["thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Microbiology and Immunology"],"thesis:degree_name":["M Sc"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:55:58Z"}