Abstract
In fungi, cellular resistance to heavy metal cytotoxicity is mediated either by binding of metal ions to proteins of the metallothionein type or by chelation to phytochelatin-peptides of the general formula (γ-Glu-Cys)n-Gly. Hitherto, only one fungus, Candida glabrata has been shown to contain both metal inactivating systems. Here we show by unambiguous FAB-MS analysis that both a metallothionein-free mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as well as a wildtype strain synthesize phytochelatin (PC2) upon exposure to 250 μM Cd2+ ions. The presence of Zn and/or Cu ions in the nutrient broth also induces PC2 synthesis in this organism. By 109Cd exchange and subsequent monobromobimane fluorescence HPLC, it could be shown that the presence of Cd2+ in the growth medium also induces phytochelatin synthesis in Neurospora crassa, which contains metallothioneins.
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Kneer, R., Kutchan, T.M., Hochberger, A. et al. Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Neurospora crassa contain heavy metal sequestering phytochelatin. Arch. Microbiol. 157, 305–310 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00248673
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00248673