A multi-domain snail metallothionein increases cadmium resistance and fitness in Caenorhabditis elegans

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 25589 - 14
• Main Authors: Andric, Andreas, Niederwanger, Michael, Albertini, Eva, Jansen-Dürr, Pidder, Stürzenbaum, Stephen R., Dallinger, Reinhard, Pedrini-Martha, Veronika, Weiss, Alexander K. H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 26-10-2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/45; 631/601; Alinda biplicata; Animal species; Animals; Cadmium; Cadmium - metabolism; Cadmium - toxicity; Caenorhabditis elegans; Caenorhabditis elegans - drug effects; Caenorhabditis elegans - genetics; Caenorhabditis elegans - metabolism; Detoxification; Homeostasis; Humanities and Social Sciences; Isoforms; Life history; Metal ions; Metallothionein; Metallothionein - chemistry; Metallothionein - genetics; Metallothionein - metabolism; Metallothioneins; Molecular weight; multidisciplinary; Nematodes; Pest resistance; Protein Domains; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Snails - genetics; Snails - metabolism; Stress response; Toxicology
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-76268-2

Metallothioneins (MTs) are a family of mostly low-molecular weight, cysteine-rich proteins capable of specific metal-ion binding that are involved in metal detoxification and homeostasis, as well as in stress response. In contrast to most other animal species which possess two-domain (bidominial) MTs, some gastropod species have evolved Cd
2+
-selective multidomain MTs (md-MTs) consisting of several concatenated β3 domains and a single C-terminal β1 domain. Each domain contains three-metal ion clusters and binds three metal ions. The terrestrial snail
Alinda biplicata
possesses, among other MT isoforms, an md-MT with nine β3 domains and a C-terminal β1 domain (termed 10md-MT), capable of binding up to 30 Cd
2+
ions per protein molecule. In the present study, the
Alinda biplicata 10md-MT
gene and a truncated version consisting of one β3 domain and a single C-terminal β1 domain (
2d-MT
) were introduced into a
Caenorhabditis elegans
knock-out strain lacking a native MT gene (
mtl-1
). The two snail MT constructs consistently increased Cd
2+
resistance, and partially improved morphological, life history and physiological fitness traits in the nematode model host
Caenorhabditis elegans
. This highlights how the engineering of transgenic
Caenorhabditis elegans
strains expressing snail MTs provides an enhancement of the innate metal detoxification mechanism and in doing so provides a platform for enhanced mechanistic toxicology.