Nickel and Cobalt Resistance Engineered inEscherichia coliby Overexpression of Serine Acetyltransferase from the Nickel Hyperaccumulator PlantThlaspi goesingense

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Abstract
The overexpression of serine acetyltransferase from the Ni-hyperaccumulating plantThlaspi goesingensecauses enhanced nickel and cobalt resistance inEscherichia coli.Furthermore, overexpression ofT. goesingenseserine acetyltransferase results in enhanced sensitivity to cadmium and has no significant effect on resistance to zinc. Enhanced nickel resistance is directly related to the constitutive overactivation of sulfur assimilation and glutathione biosynthesis, driven by the overproduction ofO-acetyl-l-serine, the product of serine acetyltransferase and a positive regulator of the cysteine regulon. Nickel in the serine acetyltransferase-overexpressing strains is not detoxified by coordination or precipitation with sulfur, suggesting that glutathione is involved in reducing the oxidative damage imposed by nickel.