Metallothionein (MT) is a class of low molecular weight, cysteine-rich, metal-binding proteins that are widely found in living organisms and can be induced by metals. They have a wide range of physiological functions, mainly involved in the storage, transport, and metabolism of trace elements, antagonism to ionizing radiation, scavenging of hydroxyl radicals, and detoxification of heavy metals. It is involved in various aspects of animal growth, development, reproduction, aging, immunity, tumorigenesis, stress response, etc.
Figure 1. Metallothioneins have four main functions in aquatic vertebrate. (Wang W. C., et al. 2014)
The research and application of MT have yielded some exciting results in the fields of agriculture, aquaculture, animal breeding, fertilizer, and feed. Lifeasible provides MT fermentation system establishment and related production services to meet the needs of customers in the field of biofertilizer and organic feed. This includes the selection, isolation, and purification of brewer's yeast and Pichia pastoris MT producing bacteria and basic testing.
MT-producing bacteria selection service
| Selected strains offered |
Selection and breeding methods offered |
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Brewer's yeast BD101 strain
Pichia pastoris GS-115 strain |
- Natural selection and breeding. We select resistant MT-producing Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains by conventional gradient plate method and mixed culture of suspensions.
- Nitrosoguanidine (NTG) mutagenesis. We treated MT-producing strains induced with NTG to screen for highly resistant mutants.
- Ultraviolet (UV) mutagenesis. We treated mutant strain cells with UV to screen for highly resistant mutant strains that were induced to produce MT.
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MT isolation and purification services
- Chromatography. We isolated MT by a combination of gel filtration chromatography and ion-exchange chromatography.
- High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. This method has a better separation effect. We can separate different types of MT using the HPLC method, which is suitable for customers who need MT isomer separation.
- DEAE-sepharose fast flow method. It is one of the methods we often offer to our customers to separate samples quickly.
- Capillary electrophoresis (CE) method. We can detect small differences in charge and hydrophobicity to separate MT isoforms with high resolution.
MT detection services
- Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. With a routine measurement range up to 0.8-100 ng/mL, we can perform rapid determination of low MT samples.
- Sulfhydryl method. We can calculate the amount of MT by measuring the amount of the sulfhydryl group. It is a simple, rapid, and effective assay at scale.
- Silver staining method. We combine electrophoresis with the silver staining method for sensitive detection of MT in cultured cells.
- Electrochemical method. We currently offer MT detection methods including differential pulse polarography (DPP), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and schematic pulse anodic solvation voltammetry (DPASV).
The yeast cells grow fast and multiply quickly, and Lifeasible has mastered the process of MT selection and isolation, and extraction without contamination and residual toxicity. MT-producing strains can be isolated from yeast by natural selection and mutagenesis selection. We can also provide customers with additional technical services such as graded MT-producing bacteria induction, fermentation control, MT isolation, purification, and testing of yeast. To expand the application of MT in the field of biofertilizer and organic feed. We always welcome inquiries from like-minded partners.
Reference
- Wang W. C., et al. (2014). "Characteristics, functions, and applications of metallothionein in aquatic vertebrates." Frontiers in Marine Science, 1: 34.
For research use only, not intended for any clinical use.
