Analysis of the Erwinia chrysanthemi ferrichrysobactin receptor gene: resemblance to the Escherichia coli fepA-fes bidirectional promoter region and homology with hydroxamate receptors

The fct cbsCEBA operon from the Erwinia chrysanthemi 3937 chrysobactin-dependent iron assimilation system codes for transport and biosynthetic functions. The sequence of the fct outer membrane receptor gene was determined. The fct promoter region displays a strong resemblance to the Escherichia coli bidirectional intercistronic region controlling the expression of the fepA-entD and fes-entF operons. An apparent Fur-binding site was shown to confer iron regulation on an fct::lac fusion expressed on a low-copy-number plasmid in a Fur-proficient E. coli strain. The fct gene consists of an open reading frame encoding a 735-amino-acid polypeptide with a signal sequence of 38 residues. The Fct protein has 36% sequence homology with the E. coli ferrichrome receptor FhuA and the Yersinia enterocolitica ferrioxamine receptor FoxA. On the basis of secondary-structure predictions and these homologies, we propose a two-dimensional folding model for Fct.