The Heterologous Expression of the Iris lactea var. chinensis Type 2 Metallothionein IlMT2b Gene Enhances Copper Tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana

• Published in: Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology 2015-02, Vol.94 (2), p.247-253
• Main Authors: Gu, Chun-Sun, Liu, Liang-Qin, Deng, Yan-Ming, Zhu, Xu-Dong, Huang, Su-Zhen, Lu, Xiao-Qing
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Arabidopsis - drug effects; Arabidopsis - genetics; Arabidopsis - metabolism; Copper; Copper - toxicity; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant - physiology; Hydrogen peroxide; Hydrogen Peroxide - metabolism; Iris Plant - genetics; Iris Plant - metabolism; Metallothionein - genetics; Metallothionein - metabolism; Metallothioneins; Phytoremediation; Plant Leaves - metabolism; Plant Roots - metabolism; Plant tolerance; Plants, Genetically Modified - metabolism; Pollution; Seedlings; Seedlings - metabolism; Soil contamination; Soil pollution; Soil Science & Conservation; Transgenic plants; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control
• ISSN: 0007-4861; 1432-0800
• DOI: 10.1007/s00128-014-1444-x

Iris lactea var. chinensis ( I. lactea var. chinensis ) is a widely adapted perennial species with a high level of copper tolerance. To evaluate the role of metallothioneins (MTs) in copper tolerance in I. lactea var. chinensis , a full-length cDNA homologue of MT2, designated IlMT2b (GenBank accession No. AB907788), was cloned using the RACE-PCR method. The expression level of IlMT2b in the leaves and roots of I. lactea var. chinensis was induced in response to copper (Cu) treatment. Ectopic expression of IlMT2b in Arabidopsis thaliana increased the Cu concentration and reduced H 2 O 2 production in the transgenic plants. After treatment with 50 and 100 μM Cu, the root length of two transgenic seedlings was respectively about 1.5- and 3-fold longer than that of the wild-type. Together, these results suggested that IlMT2b may represent a useful target gene for the phytoremediation of Cu-polluted soil.