Aerobactin is a bacterial iron chelating agent (siderophore) found in E. coli. It is a virulence factor enabling E. coli to sequester iron in iron-poor environments such as the urinary tract. Aerobactin is biosynthesized by the oxidation of lysine, catalyzed by the enzyme aerobactin synthase. The gene for this enzyme is found in the aerobactin ope...