Cadmium Uptake, MT Gene Activation and Structure of Large-Sized Multi-Domain Metallothioneins in the Terrestrial Door Snail Alinda biplicata (Gastropoda, Clausiliidae).

ABSTRACT: Terrestrial snails (Gastropoda) possess Cd-selective metallothioneins (CdMTs) that inactivate Cd²⁺ with high affinity. Most of these MTs are small Cysteine-rich proteins that bind 6 Cd²⁺ equivalents within two distinct metal-binding domains, with a binding stoichiometry of 3 Cd²⁺ ions per domain. Recently, unusually large, so-called multi-domain MTs (md-MTs) were discovered in the terrestrial door snail Alinda biplicata (A.b.). The aim of this study is to evaluate the ability of A.b. to cope with Cd stress and the potential involvement of md-MTs in its detoxification. Snails were exposed to increasing Cd concentrations, and Cd-tissue concentrations were quantified. The gene structure of two md-MTs (9md-MT and 10md-MT) was

SUBMITTER: Pedrini-Martha V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7084494 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature