ArticleNature communications2026
Stress-induced iron-sulfur cluster damage as a conserved trigger of the bacterial stringent response.
Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- ISEmerging microbes & infections · 2026Article
- The phenotypic landscape of the model firmicuteProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Asymmetric Osmoadaptive Responses in Intermediate-Salinity Microbial Communities Revealed by Metatranscriptomics.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Review
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
Pathogenic bacteria rely on the stringent response to adapt to hostile environments encountered within the host. However, the mechanisms by which host-induced stress activates this response remain poorly understood. Here, we identify iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster damage as a conserved trigger of the stringent response in major Gram-negative pathogens, including Salmonella enterica, Enterobacter cloacae, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. We demonstrate that Fe-S cluster disruption-triggered by oxidative stress or metal imbalance-limits intracellular pools of sulfur-containing and branched-chain amino acids, thereby activating the (p)ppGpp synthetase RelA. We further show that during Fe-S cluster stress, (p)ppGpp plays a dual role: enhancing bacterial fitness and promoting virulence by upregulating the Salmonella SPI-2 type III secretion system. These findings reveal a conserved mechanism by which pathogenic bacteria integrate host-associated stresses into an adaptive transcriptional response that promotes fitness and virulence, highlighting Fe-S cluster integrity as a central hub for environmental sensing during infection.
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Registered trials
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