Diisonitrile Lipopeptides Mediate Resistance to Copper Starvation in Pathogenic Mycobacteria

Abstract

Bacterial pathogens and their hosts engage in intense competition for nutrients, including metals. Mycobacterium tuberculosis , the cause of tuberculosis, lives within host macrophages and is subject to diverse stresses, including metal excess and metal limitation. In this study, we demonstrated that the nrp gene cluster, required for M. tuberculosis virulence and which directs synthesis of diisonitrile lipopeptides, mediates copper acquisition.