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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Physiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1418762

Characterization of a Nicotiana tabacum phytochelatin synthase 1 (NtPCS1) and its response to cadmium stress

Provisionally accepted
Chanjuan Wu Chanjuan Wu Jie Zhang Jie Zhang *Mei Chen Mei Chen *Ji-Kai Liu Ji-Kai Liu *Yun-Lai Tang Yun-Lai Tang *
  • Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Phytochelatin synthase (PCS) is a critical enzyme involved in heavy metal detoxification in organisms.In this study, we reported molecular and functional characterization of the PCS1 gene from Nicotiana tabacum. The amino acid sequence of NtPCS1 shared a high similarity in its N-terminal region with PCS from other species. The enzymatic activity of NtPCS1 was found to be enhanced in the order Ag 2+ > Cd 2+ > Cu 2+ > Pb 2+ > Hg 2+ > Fe 2+ > Zn 2+ . In addition, RT-PCR data indicated that NtPCS1 gene is constitutively expressed, with the highest expression observed in flowers, and that its transcript levels are up-regulated by CdCl2. When tobacco overexpressing NtPCS1 (PCS1 lines) were grown under CdCl2 stress, they produced more phytochelatins (PCs) than WT plants, but this did not result in increased Cd accumulation. However, in a root growth assay, the PCS1 lines exhibited hypersensitivity to Cd. The overexpression of NtPCS1 itself does not appear to be the primary cause of this heightened sensitivity to Cd, as the Arabidopsis thaliana Atpcs1 mutant overexpressing NtPCS1 actually exhibited enhanced tolerance to Cd. Furthermore, the addition of exogenous glutathione (GSH) progressively reduced the Cd hypersensitivity of the PCS1 lines, with the hypersensitivity even being completely eliminated. Surprisingly, the application of exogenous GSH led to a remarkably enhanced Cd accumulation in the PCS1 lines.

    Keywords: Phytochelatin synthase, Gene Expression, Phytochelatins, Glutathione, cadmium tolerance

    Received: 17 Apr 2024; Accepted: 12 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wu, Zhang, Chen, Liu and Tang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Jie Zhang, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, China
    Mei Chen, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, China
    Ji-Kai Liu, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, China
    Yun-Lai Tang, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.