Genomics of iron acquisition in the plant pathogen <Emphasis Type="Italic">Erwinia amylovora</Emphasis>: insights in the biosynthetic pathway of the siderophore desferrioxamine E

Genomics has clarified the biosynthetic pathway for desferrioxamine E critical for iron acquisition in the enterobacterial fire blight pathogen Erwinia amylovora. Evidence for each of the individual steps and the role of desferrioxamine E biosynthesis in pathogen virulence and cell protection from host defenses is presented. Using comparative genomics, it can be concluded that desferrioxamine biosynthesis is ancestral within the genera Erwinia and Pantoea.