Biochemistry: a cadmium enzyme from a marine diatom.
The ocean biota contains a vast reservoir of genomic diversity. Here we present the sequence and preliminary characterization of a protein that is a cadmium-containing carbonic anhydrase from the marine diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii. The existence of a cadmium enzyme in marine phytoplankton may indicate that there is a unique selection pressure for metalloenzymes in the marine environment, and our discovery provides a long-awaited explanation for the nutrient-like behaviour of cadmium in the oceans.
Lane
Todd W
TW
Biosystems Research Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California 94551-0969, USA.
Saito
Mak A
MA
George
Graham N
GN
Pickering
Ingrid J
IJ
Prince
Roger C
RC
Morel
François M M
FM
D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D002104:Cadmium / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D002256:Carbonic Anhydrases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017377:Diatoms / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000187:drug effects; D008386:Marine Biology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010839:Phytoplankton / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
D002104:Cadmium; D014867:Water; D002256:Carbonic Anhydrases