Zur Zincsensing Transcriptional Regulator In A Diverse Set Of Bacterial Species Divya Kandari by Divya Kandari, Hemant Joshi & Rakesh Bhatnagar instant download after payment.

Zinc (Zn) is the quintessential d block metal, needed for survival in all living organisms.

While Zn is an essential element, its excess is deleterious, therefore, maintenance of its intracellular

concentrations is needed for survival. The living organisms, during the course of evolution,

developed proteins that can track the limitation or excess of necessary metal ions, thus providing

survival benefits under variable environmental conditions. Zinc uptake regulator (Zur) is a regulatory

transcriptional factor of the FUR superfamily of proteins, abundant among the bacterial species and

known for its intracellular Zn sensing ability. In this study, we highlight the roles played by Zur in

maintaining the Zn levels in various bacterial species as well as the fact that in recent years Zur has

emerged not only as a Zn homeostatic regulator but also as a protein involved directly or indirectly

in virulence of some pathogens. This functional aspect of Zur could be exploited in the ventures for

the identification of newer antimicrobial targets. Despite extensive research on Zur, the insights into

its overall regulon and its moonlighting functions in various pathogens yet remain to be explored.

Here in this review, we aim to summarise the disparate functional aspects of Zur proteins present in

various bacterial species.