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Project 7

Molecular Mechanisms of Heavy Metal Detoxicfication and Accumulation in Plant

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Dr. Julian Schroeder

Previous studies suggest that uptake of heavy metals into plants via the root system could provide a potent and cost effective approach for toxic metal removal and remediation of soils and waters. In plants and fungi, phytochelatins are major heavy metal chelating and detoxifying thiolate peptides that form complexes with and detoxify heavy metals, including Cd, Zn, Pb, Hg and As. The enzyme phytochelatin synthase (PCS) produces phytochelatins, thus functioning as a major catalytic metal detoxification mechanism in plants. Project researchers are testing the hypotheses that stress-signaling pathways contribute to PCS induction and detoxification, and that transgenic expression of PCS genes can, together with other metal-interacting mechanisms, enhance heavy metal hyperaccumulation and removal by plants. Results from these studies could play a central role in the development of future phytoremediation strategies for heavy metal uptake and biological removal of heavy metals from contaminated soils and waters.

Main Contact info

Dr. Julian Schroeder, Project Leader
University of California, San Diego
Department of Biology and
Center for Molecular Genetics 0116
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0116
P: (858) 534-7759
F: (858) 534-7108
E-mail: or

Events

There are no upcoming events.

 

Recent Publications and Documents

Kim, Y.Y., Kim, D.Y., Shim, D., Song, W.Y., Lee, J., Schroeder, J.I., Kim, S., Moran, N., Lee Y. Expression of the Novel Wheat Gene TM20 Confers Enhanced Cadmium Tolerance to Bakers Yeast.JBiolChem.283:15893-15892(2008).
PubMed ID: 18411273

Mendoza-Cozatl DG, Butko E, Springer F, Torpey JW, Komives EA, Kehr J, Schroeder JI.  Identification of high levels of phytochelatins, glutathione and cadmium in the phloem sap of Brassica napus. A role for thiol-peptides in the long-distance transport of cadmium and the effect of cadmium on iron translocation. Plant Journal 54: 249-59, 2008.
PubMed ID: 18208526

Vahisalu, T., Kollist, H., Wang, Y.‐F., Nishimura, N., Chan, W.‐Y., Valerio, G., Lamminmaki, A., Brosche, M., Moldau, H., Desikan, R., Schroeder, J.I., Kangasjarvi, J. SLAC1 is required for plant guard cell S‐type anion channel function in stomatal signalling. Nature 452:487‐91 (2008).
PubMed ID: 18305484

Sadi BB, Vonderheide AP, Gong JM, Schroeder JI, Shann JR, Caruso JA.  An HPLC-ICP-MS technique for determination of cadmium-phytochelatins in genetically modified Arabidopsis thaliana.  J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci.  861: 123-129 (2008).
PubMed ID: 18065298

Horie, T., Costa, A., Kim, TH, Han, MH, Horie, R., Leung, HY, Miyao, A., Hirochika, H., An, G. and Schroeder, J.I. Rice OsHKT2;1 transporter mediates large Na+ influx component into K+-starved roots for growth. EMBO J. 26: 3003-3014, 2007.
PubMed ID: 17541409

Sung DY, Lee D, Harris H, Raab A, Feldmann J, Meharg A, Kumabe B, Komives EA, Schroeder JI.  Identification of an arsenic tolerant double mutant with a thiol-mediated component and increased arsenic tolerance in phyA mutants. Plant J.  49:1064-1075, 2007.
PubMed ID: 17335514

Imaizumi T, Kay SA, Schroeder JI. Circadian rhythms. Daily watch on metabolism. Science: 318: 1730-1731, 2007.
PubMed ID: 18006706

Imaizumi T, Schroeder JI, Kay SA. In SYNC: the ins and outs of circadian oscillations in calcium. Sci STKE: 390: pe32, 2007.
PubMed ID: 17565121

Chen A, Komives EA, Schroeder JI. An improved grafting technique for mature Arabidopsis plants demonstrates long-distance shoot-to-root transport of phytochelatins in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiology 141: 108-120, 2006.
PubMed ID: 16531489

Kwak JM, Nguyen V, Schroeder JI. The role of reactive oxygen species in hormonal responses. Plant Physiology 141: 323-329, 2006.
PubMed ID: 16760482

Platten JD, Cotsaftis O, Berthomieu P, Bohnert H, Davenport RJ, Fairbairn DJ, Horie T, Leigh RA, Lin HX, Luan S, Maser P, Pantoja O, Rodriguez-Navarro A, Schachtman DP, Schroeder JI, Sentenac H, Uozumi N, Very AA, Zhu JK, Dennis ES, Tester M. Nomenclature for HKT transporters, key determinants of plant salinity tolerance. Trends Plant Sci. 11: 372-374, 2006.
PubMed ID: 16809061

Schroeder JI, Nambara E. A quick release mechanism for abscisic acid. Cell 126: 1023-1025, 2006.
PubMed ID: 16990126

Schroeder JI, Kuhn JM. Plant biology abscisic acid in bloom. Nature 439: 277-278, 2006.
PubMed ID: 16421556

Sunarpi, Horie T, Motoda J, Kubo M, Yang H, Yoda K, Horie R, Chan W, Leung H-Y, Hattori K, Konomi M, Osumi M, Yamagami M, *Schroeder JI, *Uozumi N. (* corresponding authors) Enhanced salt tolerance mediated by AtHKT1 transporter-induced Na+ unloading from xylem parenchyma cells. Pl. Journal 44:  928-938, 2005.
PubMed ID: 16359386

Gong JM, Waner DA, Horie T, Li SL, Horie R, Abid KB, Schroeder JI. Microarray-based rapid cloning of an ion accumulation deletion mutant in Arabidopsis thaliana. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci (USA) 101:  15404-15409, 2004.
PubMed ID: 15486089

Li Y, Dhankher OP, Carreira L, Lee D, Chen A, Schroeder JI, Balish RS, Meagher RB. Overexpression of phytochelatin synthase in Arabidopsis leads to enhanced arsenic tolerance and cadmium hypersensitivity. Plant Cell Physiol. 45:  1787-1797, 2004.
PubMed ID: 15653797

Mori I and Schroeder JI.  Reactive Oxygen Species Activation of Plant Ca2+ Channels: A Signaling Mechanism in Polar Growth, Hormone Transduction, Stress Signaling, and Hypothetically Mechano-transduction. Plant Physiology 135(2):  702-708, 2004.
PubMed ID: 15208417

Wycisk K, Kim EJ, Schroeder JI, Kramer U. Enhancing the First Enzymatic Step in Histidine Biosynthesis Pathway Increases the Free Histidine Pool and Nickel Tolerance in Arabidosis Thaliana. FEBS Letters 578: 128-134, 2004.
PubMed ID: 15581629