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Effects of Copper Exposure on Expression of Glutathione-Related Genes in Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

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Abstract

The response of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans to variations in extracellular Cu exposure was investigated in terms of glutathione-related genes expression profiling based on reverse-transcription quantitative PCR analysis. The results show that the higher concentration of Cu would induce the expression of glutathione-related enzymes and cells elicited specific transcriptional responses when challenged with environmental Cu (0.08 mol l−1) conditions over a 60-min period. In comparison to the control, glutathione S-transferases (GST) and glutathione reductase (GR) were highly expressed when the cells were grown in the medium with copper, and the increase of glutathione and glutathione-related enzymes makes the cells acclimate to oxidative stress induced by Cu and protects the cells from toxicity caused by Cu exposure. It suggests that in order for Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans to counteract the conditions of external Cu exposure, it modulated its expression level of GST, GR, glutathione hydrolase, and glutathione synthetase, which may protect organisms from oxidative damage. These parameters may be used to assess the biological impact of Cu in mining activities.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 50674101), the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2004CB619201), and the Chinese Science Foundation for Distinguished Group (No. 50621063).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Lab of Biometallurgy of the Ministry of Education of China, School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, People’s Republic of China

    Jin-lan Xia, Shun Wu, Rui-yong Zhang, Cheng-gui Zhang, Huan He, Zhen-yuan Nie & Guan-zhou Qiu

  2. Geomicrobiology Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083, China

    Hong-chen Jiang

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  1. Jin-lan Xia
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Correspondence to Jin-lan Xia.

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Xia, Jl., Wu, S., Zhang, Ry. et al. Effects of Copper Exposure on Expression of Glutathione-Related Genes in Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans . Curr Microbiol 62, 1460–1466 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-011-9881-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-011-9881-9

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