Magnesium Uptake by CorA Is Essential for Viability of the Gastric Pathogen Helicobacter pylori

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
We show here that Mg 2+ acquisition by CorA is essential for Helicobacter pylori in vitro, as corA mutants did not grow in media without Mg 2+ supplementation. Complementation analysis performed with an Escherichia coli corA mutant revealed that H. pylori CorA transports nickel and cobalt in addition to Mg 2+ . However, Mg 2+ is the dominant CorA substrate, as the corA mutation affected neither cobalt and nickel resistance nor nickel induction of urease in H. pylori . The drastic Mg 2+ requirement (20 mM) of H. pylori corA mutants indicates that CorA plays a key role in the adaptation to the low-Mg 2+ conditions predominant in the gastric environment.