title: A major latex-like protein is a key factor in crop contamination by persistent organic pollutants.
abstract: This is the first report, to our knowledge, to reveal important factors by which members of the Cucurbitaceae family, such as cucumber (Cucumis sativus), watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), melon (Cucumis melo), pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo), squash (C. pepo), and zucchini (C. pepo), are selectively polluted with highly toxic hydrophobic contaminants, including organochlorine insecticides and dioxins. Xylem sap of C. pepo ssp. pepo, which is a high accumulator of hydrophobic compounds, solubilized the hydrophobic compound pyrene into the aqueous phase via some protein(s). Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of xylem sap of two C. pepo subspecies revealed that the amount of 17-kD proteins in C. pepo ssp. pepo was larger than that in C. pepo ssp. ovifera, a low accumulator, suggesting that these proteins may be related to the translocation of hydrophobic compounds. The protein bands at 17 kD contained major latex-like proteins (MLPs), and the corresponding genes MLP-PG1, MLP-GR1, and MLP-GR3 were cloned from the C. pepo cultivars Patty Green and Gold Rush. Expression of the MLP-GR3 gene in C. pepo cultivars was positively correlated with the band intensity of 17-kD proteins and bioconcentration factors toward dioxins and dioxin-like compounds. Recombinant MLP-GR3 bound polychlorinated biphenyls immobilized on magnetic beads, whereas recombinant MLP-PG1 and MLP-GR1 did not. These results indicate that the high expression of MLP-GR3 in C. pepo ssp. pepo plants and the existence of MLP-GR3 in their xylem sap are related to the efficient translocation of hydrophobic contaminants. These findings should be useful for decreasing the contamination of fruit of the Cucurbitaceae family as well as the phytoremediation of hydrophobic contaminants.
authors: Research Center for Environmental Genomics, Kobe University, Kobe, Hyogo 657-8501, Japan. hinui@kobe-u.ac.jp
authors: Hideyuki
authors: H
authors: Inui
authors: Mami
authors: M
authors: Sawada
authors: Junya
authors: J
authors: Goto
authors: Kiyoshi
authors: K
authors: Yamazaki
authors: Noriko
authors: N
authors: Kodama
authors: Hiroki
authors: H
authors: Tsuruta
authors: Heesoo
authors: H
authors: Eun
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000378:metabolism*; D028464:Cucurbita / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D007840:Latex / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000378:metabolism*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000235:genetics; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D011721:Pyrenes / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D012995:Solubility; D052584:Xylem / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007840:Latex; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D010940:Plant Proteins; D011721:Pyrenes; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012989:Soil Pollutants; C030984:pyrene; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
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