Iron starvation triggers the stringent response and induces amino acid biosynthesis for bacillibactin production in Bacillus subtilis.

Iron deprivation in bacteria causes the derepression of genes controlled by the ferric uptake regulator (Fur) The present microarray analysis of iron-starved Bacillus subtilis cells grown in minimal medium unveils additional physiological effects on a large number of genes linked to stringent-response regulation and to genes involved in amino acid biosynthesis associated with pathways essential for bacillibactin production.