Overexpression of Iris. lactea var. chinensis metallothionein llMT2a enhances cadmium tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana

• Iris. lactea var. chinensis is tolerant and accumulation of heavy metal Cd.
• Root length of IlMT2a transgenic lines was longer than that of wild-type under Cd stress.
• IlMT2a transgenic lines accumulated remarkably less H2O2 and O2− than wild-type under Cd stress.

Metallothioneins (MTs) are cysteine-rich, low molecular weight, heavy metal-binding protein molecules. Here, a full-length cDNA homologue of MT2a (type 2 metallothionein) was isolated from the cadmium-tolerant species Iris. lactea var. chinensis (I. lactea var. chinensis). Expression of IlMT2a in I. lactea var. chinensis roots and leaves was up-regulated in response to cadmium stress. When the gene was constitutively expressed in Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana), root length of transgenic lines was longer than that of wild-type under 50 μM or 100 μM cadmium stress. However, there was no difference of cadmium absorption between wild-type and trangenic lines. Histochemical staining by 3,3-diaminobenzidine (DAB) and nitroblue tetrazoliu (NBT) clearly demonstrated that transgenic lines accumulated remarkably less H2O2 and O2− than wild-type. Together, IlMT2a may be a promising gene for the cadmium tolerance improvement.