Expression of the novel wheat gene TM20 confers enhanced cadmium tolerance to bakers' yeast

Yu Young Kim, Do Young Kim, Donghwan Shim, Won Yong Song, Joohyun Lee, Julian I. Schroeder, Sanguk Kim, Nava Moran, Youngsook Lee*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

35 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cadmium causes the generation of reactive oxygen species, which in turn causes cell damage. We isolated a novel gene from a wheat root cDNA library, which conferred Cd(II)-specific tolerance when expressed in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). The gene, which we called TaTM20, for Triticum aestivum transmembrane 20, encodes a putative hydrophobic polypeptide of 889 amino acids, containing 20 transmembrane domains arranged as a 5-fold internal repeating unit of 4 transmembrane domains each. Expression of TaTM20 in yeast cells stimulated Cd(II) efflux resulting in a decrease in the content of yeast intracellular cadmium. TaTM20-induced Cd(II) tolerance was maintained in yeast even under conditions of reduced GSH. These results demonstrate that TaTM20 enhances Cd(II) tolerance in yeast through the stimulation of Cd(II) efflux from the cell, partially independent of GSH. Treatment of wheat seedlings with Cd(II) induced their expression of TaTM20, decreasing subsequent root Cd(II) accumulation and suggesting a possible role for TaTM20 in Cd(II) tolerance in wheat.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)15893-15902
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Biological Chemistry
Volume283
Issue number23
DOIs
StatePublished - 6 Jun 2008

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Expression of the novel wheat gene TM20 confers enhanced cadmium tolerance to bakers' yeast'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this