title: In vivo synthesis of nano-selenium by Tetrahymena thermophila SB210.
abstract: Nano-selenium has a great potential to be used in chemical, biological, medical and environmental fields. Biological methods for nano-selenium synthesis have attracted wide interests, because they can be operated at ambient temperature and pressure without complicated equipments. In this work, a protozoa, Tetrahymena thermophila (T. thermophila) SB210, was used to in vivo synthesize nano-selenium. The biosynthesized nano-selenium was characterized using transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The synthesized amorphous spherical selenium nanoparticles had diameters of 50-500nm with the coexistence of irregular nano-selenium. The expressions of glutathione (GSH) synthesis related gene glutathione synthase, cysteine-rich protein metallothionein related gene metallothionein-1 and [2Fe-2S] cluster-binding protein related gene were up-regulated in the nano-selenium producing group. Also, the subsequent GSH detection and in vitro synthesis experimental results suggest the three proteins were likely to be involved in the nano-selenium synthesis process.
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Department of Chemistry, China.
authors.forename: Yin-Hua
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Department of Chemistry, China.
authors.forename: Ling-Li
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Department of Chemistry, China.
authors.forename: Nan-Qing
authors.initials: NQ
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Ion Beam Bioengineering, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China.
authors.forename: Jing-Hua
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Ion Beam Bioengineering, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Engineering and Materials Science Experiment Center, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.
authors.forename: Hui-Juan
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Engineering and Materials Science Experiment Center, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Department of Chemistry, China. Electronic address: hqyu@ustc.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Han-Qing
authors.initials: HQ
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D001709:Biotechnology; D017125:Genes, Protozoan; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism; D005981:Glutathione Synthase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D055772:Green Chemistry Technology; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D036103:Nanotechnology; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020887:Selenious Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D012643:Selenium / Q000737:chemistry*; D016808:Tetrahymena thermophila / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D005981:Glutathione Synthase; D020887:Selenious Acid; D005978:Glutathione; D012643:Selenium
keywords: Animal; Biosynthesis; Glutathione (GSH); Nano-selenium; Proteins; Tetrahymena thermophila