Skip Navigation



JXB Advance Access published online on June 18, 2003
Journal of Experimental Botany, doi:10.1093/jxb/erg205
© 2003 by Oxford University Press
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
54/389/1833    most recent
erg205v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Heiss, S.
Right arrow Articles by Rausch, T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Heiss, S.
Right arrow Articles by Rausch, T.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Heiss, S.
Right arrow Articles by Rausch, T.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Received February 19, 2003; accepted May 2, 2003
© 2003 Society for Experimental Biology

RESEARCH PAPER

Phytochelatin synthase (PCS) protein is induced in Brassica juncea leaves after prolonged Cd exposure

Senta Heiss 1, Andreas Wachter 1, Jochen Bogs 1, Christopher Cobbett 2, and Thomas Rausch 1*

1 Heidelberger Institut für Pflanzenwissenschaften, INF 360, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
2 Department of Genetics, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: trausch{at}bot.uni-hd.de.


  Abstract

Higher plants respond to cadmium exposure with the production of phytochelatins (PCn), small heavy metal binding peptides, which are synthesized from glutathione by phytochelatin synthase (PCS). The isolation of a PCS cDNA clone from Brassica juncea L. cv. Vitasso, a candidate species for phytoremediation, is reported here. CLUSTAL analysis revealed a close relationship of BjPCS1 with PCS proteins from Arabidopsis thaliana and Thlaspi caerulescens. BjPCS1 expressed as recombinant protein in E. coli had PCS activity in vitro that was activated by 50 µM Cu and 200 µM Cd to a similar extent. Immunoblot analysis with an antiserum directed against recombinant BjPCS1 showed constitutive PCS expression during plant development. As a percentage of the total protein, the expression was higher in the roots, internodes and petioles in comparison with the leaf tissue. When B. juncea plants were treated with 25 µM cadmium, PCn accumulated increasingly over a 6 d period. Levels in shoots were about 3-fold higher than in roots. Prolonged cadmium exposure caused a significant increase of PCS protein in leaves, whereas in roots PCS protein levels were not affected.

Key words: Brassica juncea, cadmium, heavy metal, phytochelatin synthase.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Environ. Qual.Home page
M. Schiavon, E. A.H. Pilon-Smits, M. Wirtz, R. Hell, and M. Malagoli
Interactions between Chromium and Sulfur Metabolism in Brassica juncea
J. Environ. Qual., June 23, 2008; 37(4): 1536 - 1545.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Environ. Qual.Home page
R. L. Chaney, J. S. Angle, C. L. Broadhurst, C. A. Peters, R. V. Tappero, and D. L. Sparks
Improved Understanding of Hyperaccumulation Yields Commercial Phytoextraction and Phytomining Technologies
J. Environ. Qual., August 31, 2007; 36(5): 1429 - 1443.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Plant Physiol.Home page
J. Ramos, M. R. Clemente, L. Naya, J. Loscos, C. Perez-Rontome, S. Sato, S. Tabata, and M. Becana
Phytochelatin Synthases of the Model Legume Lotus japonicus. A Small Multigene Family with Differential Response to Cadmium and Alternatively Spliced Variants
Plant Physiology, March 1, 2007; 143(3): 1110 - 1118.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
S. S. Sharma and K.-J. Dietz
The significance of amino acids and amino acid-derived molecules in plant responses and adaptation to heavy metal stress
J. Exp. Bot., March 1, 2006; 57(4): 711 - 726.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Biol. Chem.Home page
R. Ruotolo, A. Peracchi, A. Bolchi, G. Infusini, A. Amoresano, and S. Ottonello
Domain Organization of Phytochelatin Synthase: FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES OF TRUNCATED ENZYME SPECIES IDENTIFIED BY LIMITED PROTEOLYSIS
J. Biol. Chem., April 9, 2004; 279(15): 14686 - 14693.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.