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Arsenic hypertolerance in the protist Euglena mutabilis is mediated by specific transporters and functional integrity maintenance mechanisms
Author(s) -
Halter David,
Andres Jérémy,
Plewniak Frédéric,
Poulain Julie,
Da Silva Corinne,
ArsènePloetze Florence,
Bertin Philippe N.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/1462-2920.12474
Subject(s) - protist , biology , arsenic , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , gene , materials science , metallurgy
Summary Arsenic is a toxic metalloid known to cause multiple and severe cellular damages, including lipid peroxidation, protein misfolding, mutagenesis and double and single‐stranded DNA breaks. Thus, exposure to this compound is lethal for most organisms but some species such as the photosynthetic protist E uglena mutabilis are able to cope with very high concentrations of this metalloid. Our comparative transcriptomic approaches performed on both an arsenic hypertolerant protist, i.e. E . mutabilis , and a more sensitive one, i.e. E . gracilis , revealed multiple mechanisms involved in arsenic tolerance. Indeed, E . mutabilis prevents efficiently the accumulation of arsenic in the cell through the expression of several transporters. More surprisingly, this protist induced the expression of active DNA reparation and protein turnover mechanisms, which allow E . mutabilis to maintain functional integrity of the cell under challenging conditions. Our observations suggest that this protist has acquired specific functions regarding arsenic and has developed an original metabolism to cope with acid mine drainages‐related stresses.