title: A new extracellular von Willebrand A domain-containing protein is involved in silver uptake in Microcystis aeruginosa exposed to silver nanoparticles.
abstract: Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) can be toxic for cyanobacteria when present at low nanomolar concentrations, but the molecular mechanisms whereby AgNPs (or free Ag(+) released from AgNPs) interact with these prokaryotic algal cells remain elusive. Here, we studied Ag uptake mechanisms in the prokaryotic cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa exposed to AgNPs by measuring growth inhibition in the absence or presence of high-affinity Ag-binding ligands and by genetic transformation of E. coli with a protein predicted to be involved in Ag uptake. We discovered a new von Willebrand A (vWA) domain-containing protein in M. aeruginosa that mediates Ag uptake from AgNPs when expressed in E. coli. This new Ag transport protein, which is absent in eukaryotic algae, is a potential candidate explaining the higher AgNPs toxicity in cyanobacteria such as M. aeruginosa than that in eukaryotic algae. The present study provides new insights on Ag uptake mechanisms in the prokaryotic algae M. aeruginosa.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310032, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Si
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310032, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yujian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Quebec-Ocean and Takuvik Joint International Research Unit, Université Laval, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lavoie
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Haiping
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310032, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310032, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhengwei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310032, People's Republic of China. hfqian@zjut.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Haifeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Qian
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015870:Gene Expression; D046931:Microcystis / Q000378:metabolism*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000378:metabolism*; D000072417:Protein Domains; D012834:Silver / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D012834:Silver
keywords: Genetic transformation; Microcystis aeruginosa; Silver nanoparticle.vWA domain-containing protein