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- Tzafestas, Kyriakos, et al.
(författare)
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Expression of a Drosophila glutathione transferase in Arabidopsis confers the ability to detoxify the environmental pollutant, and explosive, 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene
- 2017
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Ingår i: New Phytologist. - : Wiley. - 0028-646X .- 1469-8137. ; 214:1, s. 294-303
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The explosive 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) is a significant, global environmental pollutant that is both toxic and recalcitrant to degradation. Given the sheer scale and inaccessible nature of contaminated areas, phytoremediation may be a viable clean-up approach. Here, we have characterized a Drosophila melanogaster glutathione transferase (DmGSTE6) which has activity towards TNT. Recombinantly expressed, purified DmGSTE6 produces predominantly 2-glutathionyl-4, 6-dinitrotoluene, and has a 2.5-fold higher Maximal Velocity (Vmax), and five-fold lower Michaelis Constant (Km) than previously characterized TNT-active Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) GSTs. Expression of DmGSTE6 in Arabidopsis conferred enhanced resistance to TNT, and increased the ability to remove TNT from contaminated soil relative to wild-type plants. Arabidopsis lines overexpressing TNT-active GSTs AtGST-U24 and AtGST-U25 were compromised in biomass production when grown in the absence of TNT. This yield drag was not observed in the DmGSTE6-expressing Arabidopsis lines. We hypothesize that increased levels of endogenous TNT-active GSTs catalyse excessive glutathionylation of endogenous substrates, depleting glutathione pools, an activity that DmGST may lack. In conclusion, DmGSTE6 has activity towards TNT, producing a compound with potential for further biodegradation. Selecting or manipulating plants to confer DmGSTE6-like activity could contribute towards development of phytoremediation strategies to clean up TNT from polluted military sites.
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