TY - JOUR
T1 - Molecular mechanisms controlling sensitivity to toxic metal ions in yeast
AU - Perego, Paola
AU - Howell, Stephen B.
PY - 1997/12
Y1 - 1997/12
N2 - Contamination of the environment has made toxic metal ions a major health issue. The use of yeasts as model systems for the identification of molecular mechanisms that control sensitivity to these agents is particularly attractive because of the ease of genetic manipulation and the availability of the complete Saccharomyces cerevisiae genomic sequence. This paper reviews information on those genes and mechanisms that have been identified in both the budding yeast S. cerevisiae and the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe as being capable of modulating sensitivity to important toxic metals. The factors that influence sensitivity to toxic metal ions include cellular thiols (glutathione, phytochelatins, labile sulfide, and metallothioneins) and the products of genes directly and indirectly involved in the transport or sequestration of the metal ion. A complete understanding of the molecular basis of sensitivity to toxic metal ions in lower organisms is expected to provide useful insights in the metal ion detoxification pathways and diseases related to these pathways in humans.
AB - Contamination of the environment has made toxic metal ions a major health issue. The use of yeasts as model systems for the identification of molecular mechanisms that control sensitivity to these agents is particularly attractive because of the ease of genetic manipulation and the availability of the complete Saccharomyces cerevisiae genomic sequence. This paper reviews information on those genes and mechanisms that have been identified in both the budding yeast S. cerevisiae and the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe as being capable of modulating sensitivity to important toxic metals. The factors that influence sensitivity to toxic metal ions include cellular thiols (glutathione, phytochelatins, labile sulfide, and metallothioneins) and the products of genes directly and indirectly involved in the transport or sequestration of the metal ion. A complete understanding of the molecular basis of sensitivity to toxic metal ions in lower organisms is expected to provide useful insights in the metal ion detoxification pathways and diseases related to these pathways in humans.
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U2 - 10.1006/taap.1997.8271
DO - 10.1006/taap.1997.8271
M3 - Article
C2 - 9439726
AN - SCOPUS:0031422659
VL - 147
SP - 312
EP - 318
JO - Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology
JF - Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology
SN - 0041-008X
IS - 2
ER -