Worms take the ‘phyto’ out of ‘phytochelatins’

Phytochelatin synthase is the enzyme responsible for the synthesis of heavy-metal-binding peptides (phytochelatins) from glutathione and related thiols. It has recently been determined that it is not only restricted to plants and some fungi, as was once thought, but also has an essential role in hea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in biotechnology (Regular ed.) 2002-02, Vol.20 (2), p.61-64
Main Authors: Vatamaniuk, Olena K, Bucher, Elizabeth A, Ward, James T, Rea, Philip A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aminoacyltransferases - genetics
Aminoacyltransferases - metabolism
Animals
Antidotes - metabolism
Binding sites
Biosynthesis
Cadmium
Caenorhabditis - enzymology
Caenorhabditis - genetics
Caenorhabditis elegans
Detoxification
Enzymes
Flowers & plants
Fungi
Genes
Glutathione
Heavy metals
Inactivation, Metabolic - physiology
Metalloproteins - biosynthesis
Metalloproteins - metabolism
Metals, Heavy - metabolism
Models, Animal
Nematodes
Organisms
Osmosis
pathogens
Peptides
phytochelatin synthase
Phytochelatins
Phytoremediation
Polypeptides
roundworms
Schistosoma - enzymology
Schistosoma - genetics
Schistosoma - parasitology
schistosomes
Tropical diseases
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Summary:Phytochelatin synthase is the enzyme responsible for the synthesis of heavy-metal-binding peptides (phytochelatins) from glutathione and related thiols. It has recently been determined that it is not only restricted to plants and some fungi, as was once thought, but also has an essential role in heavy-metal detoxification in the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. These findings and others that demonstrate phytochelatin synthase-coding sequences in the genomes of several other invertebrates, including pathogenic nematodes, schistosomes and roundworms, herald a new era in phytochelatin research, in which these novel post-translationally synthesized peptides will not only be investigated in the context of phytoremediation but also from a clinical parasitological standpoint. Demonstration of a biosynthetic enzyme for phytochelatins in the model nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans together with the discovery of coding sequences for this enzyme in several parasitic worms heralds a new era of research into the molecular basis and biotechnological implications of how animals combat heavy metal toxicity.
ISSN:0167-7799
1879-3096
DOI:10.1016/S0167-7799(01)01873-X