植物对重金属耐性的分子生态机理

植物适应重金属元素胁迫的机制包括阻止和控制重金属的吸收、体内螯合解毒、体内区室化分隔以及代谢平衡等。近年来,随着分子生物学技术在生态学研究中的深入应用,控制这些过程的分子生态机理逐渐被揭示出来。菌根、根系分泌物以及细胞膜是控制重金属进入植物根系细胞的主要生理单元。外生菌根能显著提高寄主植物的重金属耐性,根系分泌物通过改变根际pH、改变金属物质的氧化还原状态和形成络合物等机理减少植物对重金属的吸收。目前,控制菌根和根系分泌物重金属抗性的分子生态机理还不清楚。但细胞膜跨膜转运器已得到深入研究,相关金属离子转运器被鉴定和分离,一些控制基因如铁锌控制运转相关蛋白(ZIP)类、自然抵抗相关巨噬细胞蛋白(Nramp)类、P_1B-type ATPase类基因已被发现和克隆。金属硫蛋白(MTs)、植物螯合素(PCs)、有机酸及氨基酸等是植物体内主要的螯合物质,它们通过螯合作用固定金属离子,降低其生物毒性或改变其移动性。与MTs合成相关的MT-like基因已经被克隆,PCs合成必需的植物螯合素合酶(PCS), 即γ-Glu-Cys二肽转肽酶(γ-ECS) 的编码基因已经被克隆,控制麦根酸合成的氨基酸尼克烟酰胺(NA)在重金属耐性中的作用和分子机理也被揭示出来。ATP 结合转运器(ABC)和阳离子扩散促进器(CDF) 是植物体内两种主要膜转运器,通过它们和其它跨膜方式,重金属被分隔贮藏于液泡内。控制这些蛋白转运器合成的基因也已经被克隆,在植物中的表达证实其与重金属的体内运输和平衡有关。热休克蛋白(HSP)等蛋白类物质的产生是一种重要的体内平衡机制,其分子机理有待进一步研究。重金属耐性植物在这些环节产生了相关响应基因或功能蛋白质,分子克隆和转基因技术又使它们在污染治理上得到了初步的应用。     

Molecular mechanisms of plant metal tolerance and homeostasis

Transition metals such as copper are essential for many physiological processes yet can be toxic at elevated levels. Other metals (e.g. lead) are nonessential and potentially highly toxic. Plants – like all other organisms – possess homeostatic mechanisms to maintain the correct concentrations of essential metal ions in different cellular compartments and to minimize the damage from exposure to nonessential metal ions. A regulated network of metal transport, chelation, trafficking and sequestration activities functions to provide the uptake, distribution and detoxification of metal ions. Some of the components of this network have now been identified: a number of uptake transporters have been cloned as well as candidate transporters for the vacuolar sequestration of metals. Chelators and chaperones are known, and evidence for intracellular metal trafficking is emerging. This recent progress in the molecular understanding of plant metal homeostasis and tolerance is reviewed. Received: 14 July 2000 / Accepted: 22 September 2000     

Influence of Soil Chemistry and Plant Physiology in the Phytoremediation of Cu,Mn, and Zn

Different anthropogenic sources of metals can result from agricultural, industrial, military, mining and urban activities that contribute to environmental pollution. Plants can be grown for phytoremediation to remove or stabilize contaminants in water and soil. Copper (Cu), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) are trace essential metals for plants, although their role in homeostasis in plants must be strictly regulated to avoid toxicity. In this review, we summarize the processes involved in the bioavailability, uptake, transport and storage of Cu, Mn and Zn in plants. The efficiency of phytoremediation depends on several factors including metal bioavailability and plant uptake, translocation and tolerance mechanisms. Soil parameters, such as clay fraction, organic matter content, oxidation state, pH, redox potential, aeration, and the presence of specific organisms, play fundamental roles in the uptake of trace essential metals. Key processes in the metal homeostasis network in plants have been identified. Membrane transporters involved in the acquisition, transport and storage of trace essential metals are reviewed. Recent advances in understanding the biochemical and molecular mechanisms of Cu, Mn and Zn hyperaccumulation are described. The use of plant-bacteria associations, plant-fungi associations and genetic engineering has opened a new range of opportunities to improve the efficiency of phytoremediation. The main directions for future research are proposed from the investigation of published results.     

Molecular mechanisms of heavy metal hyperaccumulation and phytoremediation

A relatively small group of hyperaccumulator plants is capable of sequestering heavy metals in their shoot tissues at high concentrations. In recent years, major scientific progress has been made in understanding the physiological mechanisms of metal uptake and transport in these plants. However, relatively little is known about the molecular bases of hyperaccumulation. In this paper, current progresses on understanding cellular/molecular mechanisms of metal tolerance/hyperaccumulation by plants are reviewed. The major processes involved in hyperaccumulation of trace metals from the soil to the shoots by hyperaccumulators include: (a) bioactivation of metals in the rhizosphere through root–microbe interaction; (b) enhanced uptake by metal transporters in the plasma membranes; (c) detoxification of metals by distributing to the apoplasts like binding to cell walls and chelation of metals in the cytoplasm with various ligands, such as phytochelatins, metallothioneins, metal-binding proteins; (d) sequestration of metals into the vacuole by tonoplast-located transporters. The growing application of molecular-genetic technologies led to the well understanding of mechanisms of heavy metal tolerance/accumulation in plants, and subsequently many transgenic plants with increased resistance and uptake of heavy metals were developed for the purpose of phytoremediation. Once the rate-limiting steps for uptake, translocation, and detoxification of metals in hyperaccumulating plants are identified, more informed construction of transgenic plants would result in improved applicability of the phytoremediation technology.     

Put the metal to the petal: metal uptake and transport throughout plants

Compared to other organisms, plants have expanded families of transporters that are involved in the uptake and efflux of metals. Fortunately, in many cases, the examination of double mutants has been sufficient to overcome the challenge of studying functionally redundant gene families. Plants that lack two heavy-metal-transporting P-type ATPase family members (HMA2 and HMA4) reveal a function for these transporters in Zn translocation from roots to shoots. Likewise, the phenotype of plants that lack two natural resistance associated macrophage protein (NRAMP) homologs (NRAMP3 and NRAMP4) implicate these metal uptake proteins in the mobilization of vacuolar Fe stores during seed germination. Most families of metal transporters are ubiquitous but the Yellow Stripe1-Like (YSL) family is plant specific and YSL family members have been implicated in the transport of metals that are complexed with a plant specific chelator called nicotianamine (NA).     

Genomic analyses of transport proteins in Ralstonia metallidurans

Ralstonia (Wautersia, Cupriavidus) metallidurans (Rme) is better able to withstand high concentrations of heavy metals than any other well-studied organism. This fact renders it a potential agent of bioremediation as well as an ideal model organism for understanding metal resistance phenotypes. We have analysed the genome of Rme for genes encoding homologues of established and putative transport proteins; 13% of all genes in Rme encode such homologues. Nearly one-third of the transporters identified (32%) appear to function in inorganic ion transport with three-quarters of these acting on cations. Transporters specific for amino acids outnumber sugar transporters nearly 3 : 1, and this fact plus the large number of uptake systems for organic acids indicates the heterotrophic preferences of these bacteria. Putative drug efflux pumps comprise 10% of the encoded transporters, but numerous efflux pumps for heavy metals, metabolites and macromolecules were also identified. The results presented should facilitate genetic manipulation and mechanistic studies of transport in this remarkable bacterium.     

Metal ion transporters and homeostasis.

Transition metals are essential for many metabolic processes and their homeostasis is crucial for life. Aberrations in the cellular metal ion concentrations may lead to cell death and severe diseases. Metal ion transporters play a major role in maintaining the correct concentrations of the various metal ions in the different cellular compartments. Recent studies of yeast mutants revealed key elements in metal ion homeostasis, including novel transport systems. Several of the proteins discovered in yeast are highly conserved, and defects in some of the yeast mutants could be complemented by their human homologs. The studies of yeast metal ion transporters helped to unravel the molecular mechanism of macrophage defense against bacterial infection and hereditary diseases.     

Metal transport across biomembranes: emerging models for a distinct chemistry

Transition metals are essential components of important biomolecules, and their homeostasis is central to many life processes. Transmembrane transporters are key elements controlling the distribution of metals in various compartments. However, due to their chemical properties, transition elements require transporters with different structural-functional characteristics from those of alkali and alkali earth ions. Emerging structural information and functional studies have revealed distinctive features of metal transport. Among these are the relevance of multifaceted events involving metal transfer among participating proteins, the importance of coordination geometry at transmembrane transport sites, and the presence of the largely irreversible steps associated with vectorial transport. Here, we discuss how these characteristics shape novel transition metal ion transport models.     

Emerging mechanisms for heavy metal transport in plants

Heavy metal ions such as Cu(2+), Zn(2+), Mn(2+), Fe(2+), Ni(2+) and Co(2+) are essential micronutrients for plant metabolism but when present in excess, these, and non-essential metals such as Cd(2+), Hg(2+) and Pb(2+), can become extremely toxic. Thus mechanisms must exist to satisfy the requirements of cellular metabolism but also to protect cells from toxic effects. The mechanisms deployed in the acquisition of essential heavy metal micronutrients have not been clearly defined although a number of genes have now been identified which encode potential transporters. This review concentrates on three classes of membrane transporters that have been implicated in the transport of heavy metals in a variety of organisms and could serve such a role in plants: the heavy metal (CPx-type) ATPases, the natural resistance-associated macrophage protein (Nramp) family and members of the cation diffusion facilitator (CDF) family. We aim to give an overview of the main features of these transporters in plants in terms of structure, function and regulation drawing on information from studies in a wide variety of organisms.     

植物重金属转运蛋白研究进展

土壤中的有毒重金属不仅对植物有害,也可通过食物链危害人类和动物的健康.重金属转运蛋白在植物吸收、抵抗重金属的复杂机制中起着关键作用.植物重金属转运蛋白分为吸收蛋白和排出蛋白,其中,吸收蛋白转运必需重金属进入细胞,同时也会因为必需重金属的缺乏或离子之间的竞争而运载有毒重金属;排出蛋白是一类解毒蛋白,可将过量的或有毒的重金属逆向转运出细胞,或区室化于液泡中.目前,细胞内多种重金属转运蛋白基因的转录水平与重金属离子积累之间的联系已被揭示,并分离克隆出诸多相关蛋白家族成员.本文综述了近年来发现并鉴定的主要重金属转运蛋白的金属亲和性、器官表达特异性及细胞内定位等的研究进展.     

PIC1, an ancient permease in Arabidopsis chloroplasts, mediates iron transport

In chloroplasts, the transition metals iron and copper play an essential role in photosynthetic electron transport and act as cofactors for superoxide dismutases. Iron is essential for chlorophyll biosynthesis, and ferritin clusters in plastids store iron during germination, development, and iron stress. Thus, plastidic homeostasis of transition metals, in particular of iron, is crucial for chloroplast as well as plant development. However, very little is known about iron uptake by chloroplasts. Arabidopsis thaliana PERMEASE IN CHLOROPLASTS1 (PIC1), identified in a screen for metal transporters in plastids, contains four predicted alpha-helices, is targeted to the inner envelope, and displays homology with cyanobacterial permease-like proteins. Knockout mutants of PIC1 grew only heterotrophically and were characterized by a chlorotic and dwarfish phenotype reminiscent of iron-deficient plants. Ultrastructural analysis of plastids revealed severely impaired chloroplast development and a striking increase in ferritin clusters. Besides upregulation of ferritin, pic1 mutants showed differential regulation of genes and proteins related to iron stress or transport, photosynthesis, and Fe-S cluster biogenesis. Furthermore, PIC1 and its cyanobacterial homolog mediated iron accumulation in an iron uptake-defective yeast mutant. These observations suggest that PIC1 functions in iron transport across the inner envelope of chloroplasts and hence in cellular metal homeostasis.     

Probing metal ion substrate-binding to the E. coli ZitB exporter in native membranes by solid state NMR

Metal ion homeostasis is important for healthy cell function and is regulated by metal ion transporters and chaperones. To explore metal ion binding to membrane transport proteins we have used cadmium-113 as a solid state NMR probe of the Escherichia coli zinc exporter ZitB present in native membrane preparations. Competition experiments with other metal ions indicated that nickel and copper are also able to bind to this protein. Metal ion uptake studies were also performed using ZitB-reconstituted into proteoliposomes for a well established fluorescence assay. The results of both the solid state NMR and the uptake studies demonstrate that ZitB is potentially capable of transporting not only zinc but also cadmium, nickel and copper. The solid state NMR approach therefore offers great potential for defining the substrate spectrum of metal ion transporter proteins in their native membrane environments. Further, it should be useful for functional dissection of transporter mechanisms by facilitating the identification of functional residues by mutational studies.     

Metal transportome of Neurospora crassa

Neurospora crassa has been the model filamentous fungus for the study of many fundamental cellular mechanisms of transport and metabolism. The recently completed genome sequence of N. crassa has over 10,000 genes without significant matches for a large number of genes (41%) in the sequence databases, indeed presents many challenges for new discoveries. Using transporter database and BLAST searches a total of 65 open reading frames for putative cation transporter genes have been identified in N. crassa. These were further confirmed by characteristic features of the family like transmembrane domains (TOPPRED 2), conserved motifs (Clustal W) and phylogenetic analysis (TREETOP). In Neurospora cation transporter genes constitute nearly 18.3% of the total membrane transport systems, which is higher than E. coli (8.8%), S. cerevisiae (13.7%), S. pombe (17.2%), A. fumigatus (10.1%), A. thaliana (16.8%) and H. sapiens (15.6%). We refer to the complete complement of metal ion transporter genes as "Metal Transportome". There are a total of 33 putative transporters for alkali and alkaline earth metals constituting 18 for calcium (P-ATPase, VIC, CaCA, Mid1), 7 for sodium (P-ATPase, CPA1, CPA2), 4 for potassium (Trk, VIC, KUP), and 4 for magnesium (MIT). Transition metal ion transporters account for 32 transporters including 7 for zinc (ZIP), 6 for copper (Ctr2, Ctr1), 2 each for manganese (Nramp), iron (OFeT), arsenite (ArsAB, ACR3) and other metal ions (ABC and P-ATPase) and 1 each for nickel (NiCoT) and chromate (CHR). N. crassa has 7 linkage groups of which LGI harbors 21 of metal ion transporters and in contrast LGVII has only 2. Studies on metal transportomes of different organisms will help to unravel the role of metal ion transporters in homeostasis.     

Metal ligands in micronutrient acquisition and homeostasis

Acquisition and homeostasis of micronutrients such as iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) pose specific challenges. Poor solubility and high reactivity require controlled synthesis and supply of ligands to complex these metals extracellularly and intracellularly. Cytosolic labile pools represent only a minute fraction of the total cellular content. Several low‐molecular‐weight ligands are known in plants, including sulfur ligands (cysteine and peptides), nitrogen/oxygen ligands (S‐adenosyl‐l ‐methionine‐derived molecules and histidine), and oxygen ligands (phenolics and organic acids). Some ligands are secreted into the extracellular space and influence the phytoavailability of metal ions. A second principal function is the intracellular buffering of micronutrients as well as the facilitation of long‐distance transport in xylem and phloem. Furthermore, low‐molecular‐weight ligands are involved in the storage of metals, predominantly in vacuoles. A detailed molecular understanding is hampered by technical limitations, in particular the difficulty to detect and quantify cellular metal–ligand complexes. More, but still too little, is known about ligand synthesis and the transport across membranes, either with or without a complexed metal. Metal ligands have an immediate impact on human well‐being. Engineering metal ligand synthesis and distribution in crops has tremendous potential to improve the nutritional quality of food and to tackle major human health risks.     

Managing the manganese: molecular mechanisms of manganese transport and homeostasis

Manganese (Mn) is an essential metal nutrient for plants. Recently, some of the genes responsible for transition metal transport in plants have been identified; however, only relatively recently have Mn2+ transport pathways begun to be identified at the molecular level. These include transporters responsible for Mn accumulation into the cell and release from various organelles, and for active sequestration into endomembrane compartments, particularly the vacuole and the endoplasmic reticulum. Several transporter gene families have been implicated in Mn2+ transport, including cation/H+ antiporters, natural resistance-associated macrophage protein (Nramp) transporters, zinc-regulated transporter/iron-regulated transporter (ZRT/IRT1)-related protein (ZIP) transporters, the cation diffusion facilitator (CDF) transporter family, and P-type ATPases. The identification of mutants with altered Mn phenotypes can allow the identification of novel components in Mn homeostasis. In addition, the characterization of Mn hyperaccumulator plants can increase our understanding of how plants can adapt to excess Mn, and ultimately allow the identification of genes that confer this stress tolerance. The identification of genes responsible for Mn2+ transport has substantially improved our understanding of plant Mn homeostasis.     

植物对重金属的吸收和分布

植物修复是利用植物来清除污染土壤中重金属的一项技术。该技术成功与否取决于植 物从土壤中吸取金属以及向地上部运输金属的能力。植物对金属的吸收主要取决于自由态离子活度。许多螯合剂能诱导植物对重金属的吸收。金属离子在液泡中的区域化分布是植物耐 重金属的主要原因。同时,细胞内的金属硫蛋白、植物螯合肽等蛋白质以及有机酸、氨基酸等在金属贮存和解毒方面也起重要作用。本文还论述了重金属在植物体内运输的生理及分子 方面的研究进展。     

植物对重金属的吸收和分布

植物修复是利用植物来清除污染土壤中重金属的一项技术。该技术成功与否取决于植物从土壤中吸取金属以及向地上部运输金属的能力。植物对金属的吸收主要取决于自由态离子活度。许多螯合剂能诱导植物对重金属的吸收。金属离子在液泡中的区域化分布是植物耐重金属的主要原因。同时,细胞内的金属硫蛋白、植物螯合脓等蛋白质以及有机酸、氨基酸等在金属贮存和解毒方面也起重要作用。本文还论述了重金属在植物体内运输的生理及分子方面的研究进展。     

The family of SMF metal ion transporters in yeast cells

Metal ions are vital for all organisms, and metal ion transporters play a crucial role in maintaining their homeostasis. The yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) Smf transporters and their homologs in other organisms have a central role in the accumulation of metal ions and their distribution in different tissues and cellular organelles. In this work we generated null mutations in each individual SMF gene in yeast as well as in all combinations of the genes. Each null mutation exhibited sensitivity to metal ion chelators at different concentrations. The combination of null mutants DeltaSMF1 + DeltaSMF2 and the triple null mutant Delta3SMF failed to grow on medium buffered at pH 8 and 7.5, respectively. Addition of 5 microm copper or 25 microm manganese alleviated the growth arrest at the high pH or in the presence of the chelating agent. The transport of manganese was analyzed in the triple null mutant and in this mutant expressing each Smf protein. Although overexpression of Smf1p and Smf2p resulted in uptake that was higher than wild type cells, the expression of Smf3p gave no significant uptake above that of the triple mutant Delta3SMF. Western analysis with antibody against Smf3p indicated that this transporter does not reach the plasma membrane and may function at the Golgi or post-Golgi complexes. The iron uptake resulting from expression of Smf1p and Smf2p was analyzed in a mutant in which its iron transporters FET3 and FET4 were inactivated. Overexpression of Smf1p gave rise to a significant iron uptake that was sensitive to the sodium concentrations in the medium. We conclude that the Smf proteins play a major role in copper and manganese homeostasis and, under certain circumstances, Smf1p may function in iron transport into the cells.