title: Characterization of a Type 1 Metallothionein Gene from the Stresses-Tolerant Plant Ziziphus jujuba.
abstract: Plant metallothioneins (MTs) are a family of low molecular weight, cysteine-rich, and metal-binding proteins, which play an important role in the detoxification of heavy metal ions, osmotic stresses, and hormone treatment. Sequence analysis revealed that the open-reading frame (ORF) of ZjMT was 225 bp, which encodes a protein composed of 75 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 7.376 kDa and a predicated isoelectric point (pI) of 4.83. ZjMT belongs to the type I MT, which consists of two highly conserved cysteine-rich terminal domains linked by a cysteine free region. Our studies showed that ZjMT was primarily localized in the cytoplasm and the nucleus of cells and ZjMT expression was up-regulated by NaCl, CdCl2 and polyethylene glycol (PEG) treatments. Constitutive expression of ZjMT in wild type Arabidopsis plants enhanced their tolerance to NaCl stress during the germination stage. Compared with the wild type, transgenic plants accumulate more Cd2+ in root, but less in leaf, suggesting that ZjMT may have a function in Cd2+ retension in roots and, therefore, decrease the toxicity of Cd2+.
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Loess Plateau, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China. gssdzg@163.com.|Pomology Institute of Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Taigu 030815, China. gssdzg@163.com.
authors.forename: Mingxia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China. zhangfan_cau@126.com.
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Jinguo Museum of Shanxi Province, Linfen 043400, China. wangfan2015_1@126.com.
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Pomology Institute of Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Taigu 030815, China. gssdzg@163.com.
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Loess Plateau, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China. qiufengcao@163.com.|Biotechnology Research Center of Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Taiyuan 030031, China. qiufengcao@163.com.
authors.forename: Qiufen
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Loess Plateau, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China. mcchensx@sohu.com.|Department of Agriculture Shanxi Province, Taiyuan 030002, China. mcchensx@sohu.com.
authors.forename: Mingchang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000235:genetics*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D002104:Cadmium / Q000378:metabolism; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant; D008668:Metallothionein / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D021381:Protein Transport; D054712:Salinity; D055049:Salt Tolerance / Q000235:genetics; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000235:genetics*; D013347:Subcellular Fractions / Q000378:metabolism; D031957:Ziziphus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D002104:Cadmium; D008668:Metallothionein
keywords: Ziziphus jujube; ZjMT; cadmium; metallothionein; salt tolerance