[Excretion of 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid by an enterobactin-negative multiresistant wild strain of Salmonella typhimurium].

In investigations of iron siderophores produced by different Salmonella typhimurium strains we found a strain deficient in enterobactin production. Using microbiological and chemical methods, we detected the production and excretion of 2,3-dihydrobenzoic acid, a metabolite of the enterobactin biosynthesis pathway. The strain was able to produce aerobactin. We suggest that the iron uptake of pathogenic strains can be mediated by aerobactin alone. For a correct enterobactin bioassay it is necessary to use a mutant unable to grow on 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid.