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Small Metallothionein MT-10 Genes in Coastal and Hydrothermal Mussels

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Abstract

Metallothioneins (MTs) are important proteins in the intracellular regulation of metals. In the Mytilidae family, which includes many economically important species, 2 major forms of MTs have been reported: MT-10 (10 kDa) and MT-20 (20 kDa). Many different MT-10 proteins have been isolated from the common species Mytilus edulis, which suggests that distinct MT-10 genes may occur in a single specimen. Some MT genes, involving 3 exons and 2 large introns, have been isolated in Mytilidae. Our aim was to determine whether intron-free forms of the MT-10 genes can exist, which could allow rapid transcription in response to exposure to metals. Our study focused on 2 species living under very different environmental conditions: Mytilus edulis (a coastal mussel) and Bathymodiolus thermophilus (a hydrothermal mussel). We report here the first description of small, intron-free MT-10 genes, possessing a correct open reading frame in these 2 species.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the chief scientists, D. Desbruyères, and the captains and crews of the MARVEL 97 mission, for their support. Monika Ghosh is gratefully acknowledged for English corrections on this article.

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  1. Laboratoire de Biologic et Génétique Evolutive, Université du Maine, 72085, Le Mans, France

    V. Leignel, Y. Hardivillier & M. Laulier

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Leignel, V., Hardivillier, Y. & Laulier, M. Small Metallothionein MT-10 Genes in Coastal and Hydrothermal Mussels. Mar Biotechnol 7, 236–244 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10126-004-0135-8

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