title: A novel plant cysteine-rich peptide family conferring cadmium tolerance to yeast and plants.
abstract: We have identified a novel cDNA clone, termed DcCDT1, from Digitaria ciliaris, that confers cadmium (Cd)-tolerance to yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). The gene encodes a predicted peptide of 55 amino acid residues of which 15 (27.3%) are cysteine residues. We found that monocotyledonous plants possess multiple DcCDT1 homologues, for example rice contains five DcCDT1 homologues (designated OsCDT1~5), whereas dicotyledonous plants, including Arabidopsis thaliana, Brassica rapa, poplar (Populus tremula x Populus alba) and Picea sitchensis, appear to possess only a single homologue. GFP fusion experiments demonstrate that DcCDT1 and OsCDT1 are targeted to both the plant cytoplasmic membranes and cell walls. Constitutive expression of DcCDT1 or OsCDT1 confers Cd-tolerance to transgenic A. thaliana plants by lowering the accumulation of Cd in the cells. The functions of the DcCDT1 family members are discussed in the light of these findings.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
authors.forename: Taiki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsuda
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuramata
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Etsuko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kitagawa
authors.forename: Shohab
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Youssefian
authors.forename: Tomonobu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kusano