Extreme metal adapted, knockout and knockdown strains reveal a coordinated gene expression among different Tetrahymena thermophila metallothionein isoforms.

ABSTRACT: Metallothioneins (MT) constitute a superfamily of small cytosolic proteins that are able to bind metal cations through numerous cysteine (Cys) residues. Like other organisms the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila presents several MT isoforms, which have been classified into two subfamilies (Cd- and Cu-metallothioneins). The main aim of this study was to examine the specific functions and transcriptional regulation of the five MT isoforms present in T. thermophila, by using several strains of this ciliate. After a laboratory evolution experiment over more than two years, three different T. thermophila strains adapted to extreme metal stress (Cd2+, Cu2+ or Pb2+) were obtained. In addition, three knockout and/or knockdown strains for different metallothionein (MT) genes were generated. These str

SUBMITTER: de Francisco P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5716537 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature