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Mercury removal by engineered Escherichia coli cells expressing different rice metallothionein isoforms

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Abstract

Mercury is one of the more common and potentially most harmful toxic metals. Remediation using conventional physical and chemical methods is uneconomical and generates large volumes of chemical waste. Bioremediation of hazardous metals has received considerable and growing interest over the years. In the present work, genetically engineered Escherichia coli cells, which express four rice metallothionein (MT) isoforms as fusions with glutathione-S-transferase (GST), were tested for their ability to remove mercury. The results showed that the E. coli cells expressing OsMT1, OsMT2, OsMT3, and OsMT4 are able to remove 20, 13.7, 10, and 7 nmol Hg2+/mg (dry weight) from the culture medium, respectively. The recombinant GST–OsMTs were purified using affinity chromatography. The UV absorption spectra and the results of 5,5-dithio-bis-(2-nitrobenzoic) acid (DTNB) assay recorded after the reconstitution of the apo-OsMTs with mercury confirmed that the different OsMT isoforms were able to form mercury complexes in vitro with different binding capacities and different binding strength.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, 8415683111, Iran

    Azar Shahpiri & Asghar Mohammadzadeh

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  1. Azar Shahpiri
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  2. Asghar Mohammadzadeh
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Correspondence to Azar Shahpiri.

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Shahpiri, A., Mohammadzadeh, A. Mercury removal by engineered Escherichia coli cells expressing different rice metallothionein isoforms. Ann Microbiol 68, 145–152 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13213-018-1326-2

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