The influence of iron occurring in the growth medium of Staphylococcus aureus on the bacterial adhesion to collagen.

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of iron present in the growth medium of Staphylococcus aureus on the bacterial adhesion to collagen. The experiments were extended to determinate the siderophore production and to examine the S. aureus isolates surface hydrophobicity. The addition of iron to metal deficient defined medium causes the change in hydrophobicity of the examined S. aureus strains surfaces from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. The presence of iron in staphylococcal growth medium alters also the adhesion to the surface covered with collagen. Four out of six S. aureus strains adhere to collagen weaker when cells come from iron-rich medium. Majority of tested strains produce markedly less of siderophores in media containing the excess of iron (1 and 10 microM Fe) and there is no staphylococcal siderophore activity in the growth medium with a very high concentration of this compound (120 microM Fe). The obtained results indicate that the iron-stressed conditions influence the staphylococcal adhesion to collagen.