Neisseria meningitidis requires iron, and in the absence of iron alters its gene expression to increase iron acquisition and to make the best use of the iron it has. The transcriptional profile of ningitidis strain MeS8 in response to iron restriction showed that it increases transcription genes encoding iron acquisition proteins, and decreases transcription of genes encoding proteins containing iron,. and involved in iron storage and protection from oxidative stress. Fur is the archetypal regulator in response to iron and is similarly important in N. meningitidis.