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Tw atices, pbished in Nature andEnvironmentalMicrobiology, highight

the se f specific cpnds in theintestine by tw diffeent pathgenst tcpete the natie fa.

Salmonella enterica sbsp. entericasea Typhii cases infa-atin in the intestine, and Winte

and ceages nw shw that thebactei tiizes the tetathinatethat is pdced as a est f this

hst espnse. Tetathinate has beensed f neay 90 yeas t enichSalmonella spp. in ctes, as this

bactei, nike any thes, canse this cpnd as a teinaeectn accept. Nay n

tetathinate is pesent in the gt.Hwee, thisphate, which ispdced in the intestines f the

hydgen sphide seceted bythe gt icbita, can be cneted

t tetathinate by a stng xidiz-ing agent. As netphis pdce

xidizing agents in the f fnitic xide adicas and eac-tie xygen species, the aths

specated that tetathinate ightbe pdced ding infaatin.Indeed, when ice wee infected

with an S. Typhii tant thatcannt se tetathinate, the athsdetected tetathinate in the gt;

n tetathinate was detected afteinfectin with wid-type bacteia,pesaby becase it was depeted

by the bacteia. Infaatin and thepdctin f eactie xygen specieswee eqied f tetathinate p-

dctin, as tant bacteia nabet indce infaatin did ntindce tetathinate pdctin, and

n tetathinate was pdced in icedeficient in gp91phx (as knwnas CYBB), an iptant cpnent

in the fatin f eactie xygenspecies. Cpetitin assays eeaedthat, in the pesence f tetathinate,

wid-type bacteia hae a distinctgwth adantage e bacteia thatcannt se tetathinate, bth in vitro

and in an in vivo se de. Ths,the indctin f infaatin byS. Typhii ests in the p-

dctin f a cpnd that gies thebactei a seectie adantage.

Siiay, Betin and ceages

shw that entehaehagicEscherichia coli (EHEC) can

etabize ethanaine in theintestines f cws t gain a gwth

adantage. Ethanaine is anabndant ntient deied f thephsphatidyethanaine in the

ebanes f intestina ces thatae sghed ff the intestina wa.EHEC can se this ethanaine

as a nitgen sce. Hwee, thenatie bacteia ppatin f the cwgastintestina tact, which incdes

the stains fE. coli, des ntsee t se ethanaine efficienty.Cpetitin expeients sing

wid-type EHEC and tant EHECthat ae nabe t se ethanaineshw that ethanaine tiizatin

pides a distinct gwth adantage.Ths, pathgens can benefit f

the expitatin f a ntitina niche

in the gastintestina tact. This isikey t be a cn echanisby which pathgens gain an edge in

cnizatin f the hst.Christiaan van Ooij

Bacterial virulence

Ganng an edge n the gut

OriGinal reSearcH PaPerS Winter, S. E.

et al. Gut inflammation provides a respiratory

electron acceptor for Salmonella . Nature467,

426429 (2010) | Bertin, Y. et al. Enterohaemorrhagic

Escherichia coli gains a competitive advantage

by using ethanolamine as a nitrogen source in

the bovine intestinal tract. Environ. Microbiol.

16 Sep 2010 (doi: 10.1111/j.14622920.2010.02334.x)

FurtHer readinG Garsin, D. A. Ethanolamine

utilization in bacterial pathogens: roles and

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(2010) | Croxen, M. A. & Finlay, B. B. Molecular

mechanisms ofEscherichia coli pathogenicity.

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R e s e a R c h h i g h l i g h t s

NATurE rEvIEWS |MicrobioloGy volumE 8 | NovEmBEr 2010

Nature Reviews Microbiology| AoP, pbished nine 12 octbe 2010; di:10.1038/nic2464

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