Structural Identification of Metalloproteomes in Marine Diatoms, an Efficient Algae Model in Toxic Metals Bioremediation

The biosorption of pollutants using microbial organisms has received growing interest in the last decades. Diatoms, the most dominant group of phytoplankton in oceans, are (i) pollution tolerant species, (ii) excellent biological indicators of water quality, and (iii) efficient models in assimilation and detoxification of toxic metal ions. Published research articles connecting proteomics with the capacity of diatoms for toxic metal removal are very limited. In this work, we employed a structural based systematic approach to predict and analyze the metalloproteome of six species of marine diatoms: Thalassiosira pseudonana, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Fragilariopsis cylindrus, Thalassiosira oceanica, Fistulifera solaris, and Pseudo-nitzschia multistriata. The results indicate that the metalloproteome constitutes a significant proportion (~13%) of the total diatom proteome for all species investigated, and the proteins binding non-essential metals (Cd, Hg, Pb, Cr, As, and Ba) are significantly more than those identified for essential metals (Zn, Cu, Fe, Ca, Mg, Mn, Co, and Ni). These findings are most likely related to the well-known toxic metal tolerance of diatoms. In this study, metalloproteomes that may be involved in metabolic processes and in the mechanisms of bioaccumulation and detoxification of toxic metals of diatoms after exposure to toxic metals were identified and described.