The Fate of Intracellular Metal Ions in Microbes

Whether a microorganism is a pathogen or a commensal, dependency on metals is universal. Although metals and metalloids dominate the periodic table, the list of essential metals is short and likely varies between species. The mechanisms by which these metals came to have biological relevance were probably influenced by factors such as their chemical properties and bioavailability. The overall availability of each metal has changed over the course of geological history due to the onset of photosynthesis, which switched Earth from an anoxic to an oxic environment (Catling and Claire 2005). As a result, metals, such as iron (Fe), were