Bacterial resistances to mercury and copper

Journal of Cellular Biochemistry - Tập 46 Số 2 - Trang 106-114 - 1991
Andrew P. Morby1, Julian Parkhill1, Barry T. O. Lee2,1, Nigel L. Brown2,1, Duncan A. Rouch2,1, James Camakaris2, T. Shelby Williams2
1Microbial Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
2Department of Genetics, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3052, Australia

Tóm tắt

Abstract

Heavy metals are toxic to living organisms. Some have no known beneficial biological function, while others have essential roles in physiological reactions. Mechanisms which deal with heavy metal stress must protect against the deleterious effects of heavy metals, yet avoid depleting the cell of a heavy metal which is also an essential nutrient. We describe the mechanims of resistance in Escherichia coli to two different heavy metals, mercury and copper. Resistance of E. coli to mercury is reasonably well understood and is known to occur by transport of mercuric ions into the cytoplasmic compartment of the bacterial cell and subsequent reductive detoxification of mercuric ions. Recent mutational analysis has started to uncover the mechanistic detail of the mercuric ion transport processes, and has shown the essential nature of cysteine residues in transport of Hg(II). Resistance to copper is much less well understood, but is known to involve the increased export of copper from the bacterial cell and modification of the copper; the details of the process are still being elucidated.

Expression of both metal resistance determinants is regulated by the corresponding cation. In each case the response enables the maintenance of cellular homeostasis for the metal. The conclusions drawn allow us to make testable predictions about the regulation of expression of resistance to other heavy metals.

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Journal of Cellular Biochemistry

Tập 46 Số 2

106-114

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