title: Identification and cloning of first cadmium metallothionein like gene from locally isolated ciliate, Paramecium sp.
abstract: First cadmium metallothionein like gene PMCd1 of a ciliate, Paramecium sp., isolated from industrial wastewater has been cloned and sequenced. PMCd1 is an intronless gene, encoding 612 nucleotides, with TAA coding for glutamine. The coding region of PMCd1 comprises 203 amino acids, including 37 cysteine residues with a conserved structural pattern in the form of recurring structural motifs, arranged in 17 x-cys-x-y-cys-x, 1 x-cys-cys-x and x-cys-x contexts. Both, the deduced amino acids and nucleotide sequence differ, not only from other animal metallothioneins (MTs), but also from the previously characterized Tetrahymena Cu and Cd-MTs. The translated protein of PMCd1 contains conserved cysteine residues, peculiar characteristic of stress inducible metallothionein genes of ciliates and other groups of organisms.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. rukhshuja@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Rukhsana Nighat
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Shuja
authors.forename: Abdul Rauf
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Shakoori
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002104:Cadmium / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008668:Metallothionein / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010247:Paramecium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D010802:Phylogeny; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: C004203:cadmium-binding protein; D002104:Cadmium; D008668:Metallothionein