The ABC transporter AtPDR8 is a cadmium extrusion pump conferring heavy metal resistance

Cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) are widespread pollutants that are toxic to plant growth. The expression of AtPDR8 was upregulated in cadmium- or lead-treated Arabidopsis thaliana. To test whether AtPDR8 is involved in heavy metal resistance, we examined transgenic Arabidopsis that over-expressed AtPDR8 and RNAi plants that exhibited a severely reduced AtPDR8 transcript level, as well as T-DNA insertion mutants of this ABC transporter. AtPDR8-over-expressing plants were more resistant to Cd(2+) or Pb(2+) than the wild-type and had lower Cd contents. In contrast, AtPDR8 RNAi transgenic plants and T-DNA insertion lines were more sensitive to Cd(2+) or Pb(2+) compared to wild-type plants and had higher Cd contents.…

• CS
  Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
• KB
  Korea Basic Science Institute