Kinetic Models Demonstrate Ability of Staphylococcus aureus to Uptake Heme from Beta vulgaris Proteins

Abstract

Heme, a Fe-centred hexacoordinated organometallic compound mainly present in blood proteins, acts as a major source of iron (Fe2+) for various hemolytic microorganisms. This makes blood an essential mediumsupplement for characterizing such organisms. Considering the increasing blood demand for this purpose, we are proposing an alternative approach for hemolytic characterization of bacteria using plant derivative. For the first time, we present the kinetic model of growth of Staphylococcus aureus, a beta-hemolytic, gram-positive rod-shaped bacterium, and subsequent heme uptake at an optimized concentration of crude proteins of Beta vulgaris (red beetroot). In this paper, we have determined the heme content of the beetroot juice and demonstrated the ability of S. aureus to uptake heme from beetroot protein solution. According to the determined growth kinetics, the doubling time of the bacterium in the beetroot protein supplemented medium was 25 minutes. The heme uptake analysis showed a zeroth order kinetics with a constant decline rate of 0.19 νM h-1.