High-affinity binding of the staphylococcal HarA protein to haptoglobin and hemoglobin involves a domain with an antiparallel eight-stranded beta-barrel fold.

Iron scavenging from the host is essential for the growth of pathogenic bacteria. In this study, we further characterized two staphylococcal cell wall proteins previously shown to bind hemoproteins. HarA and IsdB harbor homologous ligand binding domains, the so called NEAT domain (for "near transporter") present in several surface proteins of gram-positive pathogens.