Cadmium is a toxic metal and the mechanism of its toxicity has been studied in various model systems from bacteria to mammals. We employed Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system to study cadmium toxicity at the molecular level because it has been used to identify the molecular mechanisms of toxicity found in higher organisms. cDNA microarray and Northern blot analyses revealed that cadmium ...

Concentrations of 6 different heavy metals and total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in stormwater runoff and in the pond water of two Danish wet detention ponds. The pond water samples were analyzed for toxic effects, using the algae Selenastrum capricornutum as a test organism. Stormwater and pond water from a catchment with light industry showed high levels of heavy m...

Because copper catalyzes the conversion of H(2)O(2) to hydroxyl radicals in vitro, it has been proposed that oxidative DNA damage may be an important component of copper toxicity. Elimination of the copper export genes, copA, cueO, and cusCFBA, rendered Escherichia coli sensitive to growth inhibition by copper and provided forcing circumstances in which this hypothesis could be tested. When the...

The trace mineral Copper (Cu) is incorporated into several enzymes which catalyze important reactions in the body. Cu is mainly stored in the liver, but is also found in the skeletal system (bone marrow) as well as in muscle, brain and spleen tissue. While unavailable dietary Cu is excreted in the feces, via bile, approximately 40-60% of dietary (ingested) Cu is absorbed into the blood by the m...

Copper, though toxic in excess, is an essential trace element that serves as a cofactor in many critical biological processes such as respiration, iron transport, and oxidative stress protection. To maintain this balance between requirement and toxicity, biological systems have developed intricate systems allowing the preservation of homeostasis while ensuring delivery of copper to the appropri...

Copper can be found in the environment at concentrations ranging from a shortage up to the threshold of toxicity for plants, with optimal growth conditions situated in between. The plant stem plays a central role in transferring and distributing minerals, water and other solutes throughout the plant. In this study, alfalfa is exposed to different levels of copper availability, from deficiency t...

abstract soil contamination with heavy metals is a serious problem in all over the world. soils are contaminated by many different sources of heavy metals. currently different methods are used by researchers for identifying heavy metal contamination. assessing soil metal toxicity with bacterial bioluminescence is one of the new techniques. in this study, different concentrations of zinc and cop...

Although the genome of Escherichia coli K-12 encodes just a few copper-containing enzymes, this transition metal is critical for the bacterium to derive energy from oxygen reduction and to protect itself from injury (1). For example, the CuB site within cytochrome bo oxidase facilitates the flow of electrons from ubiquinol to oxygen during aerobic respiration. A putative copper-binding site wit...

The health effects of nanoparticles (NPs) are raising considerable and growing concerns from the public and government around the world. Nano-metals are new forms of metal with special properties, but are characterized by having a particle size of less than 100 nm. Copper is an essential trace element and its deficiency leads to different diseases in humans. In gen...

Acute (96 h) and prolonged (30 days) copper exposure induced osmoregulatory disturbance and impaired nitrogenous waste excretion in the marine teleost, the gulf toadfish (Opsanus beta), which was found to be extremely tolerant to acute copper exposure with a 96 h LC50 exceeding 340 microM but exhibited disturbed mineral balance in response to both acute and prolonged exposure to approximately 1...