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Bacterial iron acquisition systems are potential targets for new antibiotics, because iron plays a central role in energy production, DNA synthesis, intermediate metabolism, nitrogen fixation, and oxygen detoxification. Bacteria actively acquire iron by secreting siderophores that chelate Fe³⁺, and then transporting the ferric siderophore complexes. Pathogenic K. pneumoniae produces at least four siderophores: enterobactin, glycosylated enterobactin, yersiniabactin, and aerobactin. Like all Gram‐negative species, K. pneumoniae obtains iron with TonB dependent transporters (TBDT) in its outer membrane (OM). For example, aided by the inner membrane protein TonB, that provides energy, the OM protein FepA actively transports ferric enterobactin (FeEnt). K. pneumoniae strain Kp52.145 contains three chromosomal and one plasmid‐mediated fepA homologs, that we individually cloned in pHSG575 and genetically …