FUNCTIONAL METATRANSCRIPTOMICS REVEALS A NOVEL MULTI METAL TOLERANT GENE OF NRAMP-FAMILY, ISOLATED FROM  METAL-CONTAMINATED SOIL

Bhupendra Narayan Singh  Yadav; Priyanka Sharma; Shristy  Maurya; Rajiv Kumar Yadav

doi:10.48165/abr.2024.26.01.22

Authors

Bhupendra Narayan Singh Yadav Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering Laboratory, Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj-211 002, Uttar Pradesh (India)
Priyanka Sharma Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering Laboratory, Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj-211 002, Uttar Pradesh (India)
Shristy Maurya Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering Laboratory, Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj-211 002, Uttar Pradesh (India)
Rajiv Kumar Yadav Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering Laboratory, Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj-211 002, Uttar Pradesh (India)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.48165/abr.2024.26.01.22

Keywords:

cDNA clone, metal homeostasis, metal transport, Nramp family, soil, micro-eukaryotes

Abstract

The continuous release of heavy metal pollutants into soil through human activities posesthreat to both macro- and micro-organisms within the ecosystem. Functional metatranscriptomics is a robust method for discovering novel genes associated with a particular biological process. In this study, functional meta transcriptomic approach was employed to isolate a gene from size-fractionated cDNA libraries of micro-eukaryotes. The cDNA libraries were raised using high-quality RNA from heavy metal-contaminated soil. The identified gene aligned with Nramp (Natural resistance associated macrophage protein) family. The gene, JMC-10, was submitted to GenBank under Accession No. OR882126, and it encodes a protein with high sequence similarity to other Nramp family members, including Smf1p, Smf2p, and Smf3p in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To study the function of JMC-10 gene, a series of growth assays were conducted in yeast cells that either overexpressed JMC-10 or carried a deletion of gene. The study revealed the putative role of JMC-10 in the transportation of divalent metal ions, including iron, manganese, zinc and cadmium. Notably, the overexpression of JMC-10 was induced by exposure to toxic levels of cadmium, suggesting it’s potential role in metal detoxification. The study provides new intuitions into the roles of Nramp family in metal homeostasis and highlights the potentiality of functional metatranscriptomics for identifying new genes having crucial roles in complex biological processes. Further, it may serve as a biomarker for identifying metal pollution.

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