In iron-replete environments, the Pseudomonas aeruginosa Fur (ferric uptake regulator) protein represses expression of two small regulatory RNAs encoded by prrF1 and prrF2. Here we describe the effects of iron and PrrF regulation on P. aeruginosa physiology. We show that PrrF represses genes encoding enzymes for the degradation of anthranilate (i.e. antABC), a precursor of the Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS). Under ironlimiting conditions, PQS production was greatly decreased in a ⌬prrF1,2 mutant as compared with wild type. The addition of anthranilate to the growth medium restored PQS production to the ⌬prrF1,2 mutant, indicating that its defect in PQS production is a consequence of anthranilate degradation. PA2511 was shown to encode an anthranilate-dependent activator of the ant genes and was subsequently renamed antR. AntR was not required for regulation of antA by PrrF but was required for optimal iron activation of antA. Furthermore, iron was capable of activating both antA and antR in a ⌬prrF1,2 mutant, indicating the presence of two distinct yet overlapping pathways for iron activation of antA (AntR-dependent and PrrF-dependent). Additionally, several quorum-sensing regulators, including PqsR, influenced antA expression, demonstrating that regulation of anthranilate metabolism is intimately woven into the quorum-sensing network of P. aeruginosa. Overall, our data illustrate the extensive control that both iron regulation and quorum sensing exercise in basic cellular physiology, underlining how intermediary metabolism can affect the regulation of virulence factors in P. aeruginosa.Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen that causes serious infections in immuno-compromised individuals, such as burn victims, and in cystic fibrosis (CF) 2 patients. To cause disease, P. aeruginosa expresses several virulence factors that allow it to colonize and survive within its host, as well as a variety of systems that allow for the acquisition of nutrients required for metabolism and growth. P. aeruginosa must be able to coordinate the expression of each of these factors to successfully establish and maintain infection. For example, a shortage of iron availability leads to the increased expression of iron acquisition systems and decreased expression of pathways that rely on relatively large amounts of iron. Conversely, the potential for iron toxicity necessitates the tight regulation of iron acquisition in response to iron availability, a function mediated through the action of the ferric uptake regulator (Fur) protein. Under iron-replete conditions, the Fur protein becomes ferrated and binds to a 19-bp consensus sequence, called the Fur box, in the promoters of genes required for iron uptake, thereby preventing their transcription (1, 2). In P. aeruginosa, Fur directly or indirectly controls the expression of a large number of genes and operons involved in iron uptake, as well an assortment of virulence genes (3-6). Fur can also contribute to the increased expression of genes via the repressi...