Abstract
Background: Acinetobacter baumannii is the most clinically prominent species of the Acinetobacter genus and is commonly found in
hospital environments. In mammals, the iron element is virtually unavailable to invading bacteria, being mainly incorporated into iron
transport and storage proteins. Therefore, iron acquisition systems are important factors for the pathogenicity of A. baumannii strains.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of iron acquisition genes among A. baumannii isolates, collected from
patients with urinary tract infections, for the first time in Iran.
Patients and Methods: A total of 100 A. baumannii isolates were collected from patients with urinary tract infections in Zabol, southeast
of Iran. All isolates were evaluated to determine the prevalence of iron acquisition genes, including tonB (TonB-dependent receptor), barA
(acinetobactin ABC transporter), feoB (ferrous iron transport protein B), entA (acinetobactin siderophore precursor), A1S_2563 (siderophoreinteracting
protein), and hemO (heme oxygenase) using the multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method.
Results: A high prevalence of genes encoding iron acquisition systems were observed in A. baumannii isolates. The frequency of tonB, barA,
feoB, entA, A1S_2563, and hemO genes were 85, 97, 99, 98, 99, and 95%, respectively. Based on the distribution of the various iron acquisition
genes, all the studied isolates exhibited seven gene profile patterns.
Conclusions: This is the first report on the prevalence of iron acquisition genes among A. baumannii isolates collected from patients with
urinary tract infections. The high prevalence of iron acquisition genes in A. baumannii isolates suggests that these virulence factors play an
important role in the development of urinary tract infections.