Is Metal Uptake Related to Ecological Niche in the Vertebrate Host?

Our aim in this chapter is to provide a synopsis of the mechanisms of essential metal ion acquisition in microbes that inhabit the vertebrate host, highlighting how different mucosal environments may influence the repertoire of acquisition systems that are present. An appreciation of the relative exposure of microbes to metal ions from the environment or derived from the host and their available metal ion acquisition systems is an essential foundation for understanding the impact of metals ions on infection. Metal ions are essential to biological systems, as they participate in discrete chemistries that are not possible by organic molecules alone.