SLUSH peptides of the PSMβ family enable Staphylococcus lugdunensis to use erythrocytes as a sole source of nutrient iron
During infection, the host employs nutritional immunity to restrict access to iron. Staphylococcus lugdunensis has been recognized for its ability to utilize host-derived heme to overcome iron restriction. However, the mechanism behind this process involves the release of hemoglobin from erythrocytes, and the hemolytic factors of S. lugdunensis remain poorly understood. S. lugdunensis encodes four