Cloning sulfur assimilation genes of Brassica juncea L.: cadmium differentially affects the expression of a putative low-affinity sulfate transporter and isoforms of ATP sulfurylase and APS reductase.

The heavy-metal accumulator Brassica juncea L. is a high-biomass crop able to extract heavy-metal ions from the soil, a substantial part being translocated from root to shoot. Previous work has shown that Cd accumulation is accompanied by massive formation of phytochelatins (PCs). Rapid de novo synthesis of PCs in roots and leaves requires an increased synthesis of the tripeptide glutathione (GSH), which in turn depends on increased sulfur assimilation. Therefore. we have cloned cDNAs for three enzymes involved in sulfur assimilation, i.e. a putative low-affinity sulfate transporter (LAST) and two isoforms each for ATP sulfurylase (ATPS) and APS reductase (APSR). As degradation of glucosinolates might provide an additional sulfur source under stress, we also cloned a myrosinase (MYR). RNA blot analysis of transcript amounts indicated that upon Cd exposure (25 microM) the expression of ATPS and APSR in roots and leaves of 6-week-old Brassica juncea plants was strongly increased, whereas the expression of MYR was unaffected. LAST transcripts were significantly reduced in the root but remained unchanged in the leaves. Concomitant with Cd induction of ATPS and APSR mRNAs, cysteine concentrations in roots and leaves increased by 81% and 25%, respectively, whereas GSH concentrations decreased in roots and leaves by 39% and 48%, respectively. In agreement with our previous report on Cd induction of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase in B. juncea, the results indicate coordinate changes of expression for several sulfur assimilation enzymes in response to an increased demand for cysteine during PC synthesis.

cDNA cloning and expression analysis of genes encoding GSH synthesis in roots of the heavy-metal accumulator Brassica juncea L.: evidence for Cd-induction of a putative mitochondrial gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase isoform.

In roots of Brassica juncea L. cadmium (Cd) exposure (25 microM) induces a massive formation of phytochelatins (PCs), which is accompanied by an only moderate decrease (-20%) of the putative PC precursor glutathione (GSH). As PC formation in roots could be the result of local GSH de novo synthesis and/or depend on GSH import from the shoot, we have analyzed the expression of the enzymes involved in GSH synthesis in the root, namely OAS(thiol)lyase (OAS-TL; catalysing the last step in Cys biosynthesis), gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (gamma-ECS), and glutathione synthetase (GSHS). cDNA clones were isolated from a cDNA library prepared from heavy metal exposed roots. Protein sequences from cDNA clones encoding OAS-TL, gamma-ECS, and GSHS, all exhibited putative mitochondrial targeting sequences, however, for OAS-TL also two putative cytosolic isoforms were isolated. Furthermore, we have cloned several metallothionein cDNAs of the MT2 group. Northern blot analysis with coding region probes revealed that in roots of Cd-exposed plants transcript amounts for OAS-TL and GSHS were only moderately increased, whereas gamma-ECS mRNA showed a stronger increase. Expression analysis with 3'-UTR probes indicated that among the putative mitochondrial OAS-TL, gamma-ECS and GSHS isoforms only gamma-ECS was up-regulated in response to Cd exposure. Conversely, transcripts for MT2 appeared to be slightly reduced. The results indicate that in roots Cd-induced PC synthesis correlates with a moderate increase of expression of genes involved in GSH synthesis, the change for gamma-ECS being most pronounced.

In seedlings of the heavy metal accumulator Brassica juncea Cu2+ differentially affects transcript amounts for gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (gamma-ECS) and metallothionein (MT2).

Glutathione (GSH) is the precursor of the phytochelatins (PC), which in plants and fungi are involved in heavy metal sequestration. The regulatory enzyme gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (gamma-ECS) catalyzes the first step in GSH biosynthesis. For the heavy metal accumulator Brassica juncea L. a partial gamma-ECS cDNA was cloned by RT-PCR. Treatment of suspension-cultured dark grown seedlings with micromolar concentrations of CuSO4 resulted in a strong increase of gamma-ECS mRNA in roots and shoots, concomitant with an increase of GSH and phytochelatins. A significant up-regulation of gamma-ECS mRNA was observed at 25 microM CuSO4 (shoot growth: -11%), whereas maximum up-regulation was obtained at 100 microM CuSO4 (shoot growth: -60%). Unexpectedly, metallothionein 2 (MT2) mRNA was decreased in response to the CuSO4 treatments. CdSO4 at a concentration of 50 microM caused a 72% reduction in shoot growth without affecting the amounts of gamma-ECS- and MT2 mRNAs. ZnSO4 at a concentration of 500 microM did not reduce growth but induced transient increases of gamma-ECS- and MT2 mRNAs. The implications of the results with respect to differential regulation of gamma-ECS and MT2 during heavy metal exposure are discussed.