• Molecules and Cells
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.81-87
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• 2005

Phytochelatins play an important role in heavy metal detoxification in plants as well as in other organisms. The Arabidopsis thaliana mutant cad1-3 does not produce detectable levels of phytochelatins in response to cadmium stress. The hypersensitivity of cad1-3 to cadmium stress is attributed to a mutation in the phytochelatin synthase 1 (AtPCS1) gene. However, A. thaliana also contains a functional phytochelatin synthase 2 (AtPCS2). In this study, we investigated why the cad1-3 mutant is hypersensitive to cadmium stress despite the presence of AtPCS2. Northern and Western blot analyses showed that expression of AtPCS2 is weak compared to AtPCS1 in both roots and shoots of transgenic Arabidopsis. The lower level of AtPCS2 expression was confirmed by RT-PCR analysis of wild type Arabidopsis. Moreover, no tissue-specific expression of AtPCS2 was observed. Even when AtPCS2 was under the control of the AtPCS1 promoter or of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter (CaMV 35S) it was not capable of fully complementing the cad1-3 mutant for cadmium resistance.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.409-411
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• 2009

Phytochelatins (PCs) are small-sized peptides synthesized by PC synthase (PCS) using glutathione (GSH) as a substrate, and they play an important role in the detoxification of toxic heavy metals in plants, fission yeast, and other living organisms. Recently, it has been suggested that PCS is also involved in degradation of some xenobiotics including monobromobimane. PCS cleaves the Gly residue from GSH-xenobiotics conjugates resulting in ${\gamma}$-Glu-Cys-xenobiotics, and this is to degraded further. Therefore, our research is focus on whether PCS is also involved in degradation of tolclofos-methyl, an important pesticide which has been used in ginseng cultivated areas. Heterologous expression of Arabidopsis PCS confers tolerance to tolclofos-methyl in yeast. Furthermore, PCS-deficient Cad1-3 Arabidopsis mutant showed high sensitivity to tolclofos-methyl compared with wild-type plants. These results imply that PCS is involved in degradation of tolclofos-methyl as other xenobiotics.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.3114-3119
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• 2013

The mangrove ecosystems have the capacity to act as a sink of heavy metals entering aquatic ecosystems. Despite their potential exposure to metal contaminated sediments, mangroves appear to be highly tolerant to heavy metals. In this study, we cloned metal tolerance gene from mangrove plant. Using CTAB method, RNA were isolated from leaves and root tissue of Rhizophora stylosa habitated at Weno island in Micronesia Chuuk lagoon using CTAB method and phytochelatin synthase 1 (PCS1) gene was cloned using gene specific primers. Expression of PCS1 gene was increased 1.91 fold and 2.72 fold in mangrove propagules exposed to 100 ppb Cd and 10 ppb Cu, respectively. These results indicate that expression of PCS1 gene are promising tools for health assessment of mangrove ecosystem.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2004.09a
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• pp.290-292
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• 2004

Heavy metal contamination has been increased in aqueous environments near many industrial facilities, such as metal plating facilities, mining operations, and tanneries. The soils in the vicinity of many military bases are also reported to be contaminated and pose a risk of groundwater and surface water contamination with heavy metals. The biological removal of metals through bioaccumulation has distinct advantages over conventional methods; the process rarely produces undesirable or deleterious chemical byproducts, it is highly efficient, easy to operate and cost-effective in the treatment of large volumes of wastewater containing toxic heavy metals. In addition, a recent development of molecular biology shed light on the enhancing the microorganism's natural remediation capability as well as improving the current biological treatment. In this study, characteristics of the cell growth and heavy metal accumulation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains expressing phytochelatin syntahse (PCS) gene were studied in batch cultures. The AtCRFI gene was demonstrated to confer substantial increases in metal tolerance in yeast. PCS-expressing cells tolerated more Cd$^{2＋}$ than controls.

• Proceedings of the Botanical Society of Korea Conference
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• 2002.04a
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• pp.62-72
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• 2002

This study has investigated the biosynthesis and function of the heavy metal binding peptides, the phytochelatins, in plants. PCs are synthesised enzymatically from glutathione by the enzyme PC synthase in the presence of heavy metal ions. Using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model organism cadmium-sensitive, phytochelatin-deficient mutants have been isolated and characterised in previous studies. The cadl mutants have wildtype levels of glutathione, are PC deficient and lack PC synthase activity. Thus, the CADl gene has been proposed to encode PC synthase. The CADl gene was isolated by a positional cloning strategy The gene was mapped and a candidate identified. Each of four cadl mutants had a single base pair change in the candidate gene and the cadmium-sensitive, cadl phenotype was complemented by the candidate gene. This demonstrated the CADl gene had been cloned. A homologous gene in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe was identified through database searches. A targeted-deletion mutation of this gene was constructed and the mutant, like cadl mutants of Arabidopsis, was cadmium-sensitive and PC-deficient. A comparison of the redicted amino acid sequences reveals a highly conserved N-terminal region Presumed to be the catalytic domain and a variable C-terminal region containing multiple Cys residues proposed to be involved in activation of the enzyme by metal ions. Similar genes were also identified in animal species. The Arabidopsis CADl/AtPCSl and S. pombe SpbPCS genes were expressed in E. coli and were shown to be sufficient for glutathione-dependent, heavy metal activate PC synthesis in vitro, thus demonstrating these genes encode PC synthase enzymes. Using RT-PCR, AtPCSl expression appeared to be independent of Cd exposure. However, at higher levels of Cd exposure a AtPCSl-CUS reporter gene construct appeared to be more highly expressed. Using the reporter gene construct, AtPCSl was expressed most tissues. Expression appeared to be greater in younger tissues and same higher levels of expression was observed in some regions, including carpels and the base of siliques. AtPCS2 was a functional gene encoding an active PC synthase. However, its Pattern of expression and the phenotype of a mutant (or antisense line) have not been determined. Assuming the gene is functional then it has clearly been maintained through evolution and must provide some selective advantage. This implies that, at least in some cells or tissue, it is likely to be the dominant PC synthase expressed. This remains to be determined

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.1685-1689
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• 2009

Phytochelatins (PCs) are small polypeptides synthesized by PC synthase (PCS). They are present in various living organisms including plants, fission yeast, and some animals. The presumed function of PCs is the sequestration of cytosolic toxic heavy metals like cadmium (Cd) into the vacuoles via vacuolar membrane localized heavy metal tolerance factor 1 (HMT-1). HMT-1 was first identified in fission yeast (SpHMT-1), and later in Caenorhabdtis (CeHMT-1). Recently, its homolog has also been found in PC-deficient Drosophila (DmHMT-1), and this homolog has been shown to be involved in Cd detoxification, as confirmed by the heterologous expression of DmHMT-1 in fission yeast. Therefore, the dependence of HMT-1 on PC in Cd detoxification should be re-evaluated. I heterologously expressed SpHMT-1 in cytosolic PC-deficient yeast, Saccharomycea cerevisiae, to understand the dependence of HMT-1 on PC. Yeast cells expressing SpHMT-1 showed increased tolerance to Cd compared with control cells. This result indicates that SpHMT-1 is not strictly correlated with PC production on its function. Moreover, yeast cells expressing SpHMT-1 showed increased tolerance to exogenously applied glutathione (GSH) compared with control cells, and the tolerance to Cd was further increased by exogenously applied GSH, while tolerance in control cells was not. These results indicate that the function of SpHMT-1 in Cd detoxification does not depend on PCs only, and suggest that SpHMT-1 may sequester cytosolic GSH-Cd complexes into the vacuole.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Pathology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.72.2-73
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• 2003

We found a soybean (Glycine max) cultivar 561 that was strongly resistant to a virulent bacterial strain of a Pseudomonas spp. Further identification revealed that the Pseudomonas spp. was a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Furthermore we identified specific genes involved in the resistance of soybean 561 and analyzed the pattern of gene expression against the Pseudomonas infection using differential-display reverse transcription PCR (DDRT-PCR). More than 126 cDNA fragments representing mRNAs were induced within 48 hours of bacteria inoculation. Among them, 28 cDNA fragments were cloned and sequenced. Twelve differentially displayed clones with open reading frames had unknown functions. Sixteen selected cDNA clones were homologous to known genes in the other organisms. Some of the identified cDNAs were pathogenesis-related genes (PR genes) and PR-like genes. These cDNAs included a putative calmodulin-binding protein, an endo-1,3-1,4-b-D-glucanase, a b-1,3-endoglucanase, a b-1,3-exoglucanase, a phytochelatin synthetase-like gene, a thiol pretense, a cycloartenol synthase, and a putative receptor-like sorineithreonine protein kinase. Among them, we found that four genes were putative pathogenesis-related genes (PR) induced significantly by the p. aeruginosa infection. These included a calmodulin-binding protein gene, a b-1,3-endoglucanase gene, a receptor-like sorine/threonine protein kinase gene, and pS321 (unknown function). These results suggest that the differentially expressed genes may mediate the strong resistance of soybean 561 to Pseudomonas aeruoginosa.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.239-247
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• 2003

In Korea, a local soybean (Glycine max) genotype 56l. was found to be strongly resistant to a virulent bacterial strain of a Pseudomonas sp. SN239. Specific genes involved in the resistance of the soybean genotype 561 were identified and the pattern of gene expression against the Pseudomonas infection was analyzed using differential-display reverse transcription PCR (DDRT-PCR). More than 126 cDNA fragments representing mRNAs were induced within 48 hours of bacteria inoculation. Among them, 28 cDNA fragments were cloned and sequenced. Twelve differentially displayed clones with open reading frames had unknown functions. Sixteen selected cDNA clones were homologous to known genes of other organisms. Some of the identified cDNAs were pathogenesis-related (PR) genes and PR-like genes. These cDNAs included a putative calmodulin-binding protein; an endo-l,3-1,4-$\bate$-D-glucanase; a $\bate$-1,3-endoglucanase; a $\bate$-1,3-exoglucanase; a phytochelatin synthetase-like gene; a thiol protease; a cycloartenol synthase; and a putative receptor-like serine/threonine protein kinase. Among them, four genes were found to be putative PR genes induced significantly by the Pseudomonas infection. These included a calmodulin-binding protein gene, a $\bate$-1,3-endoglucanase gene, a receptor-like serine/threonine protein kinase gene, and pS321 (unknown function). These results suggest that the differentially expressed genes may mediate the strong resistance of soybean 561 to the strain SN239 of Pseudomonas sp.