Intracellular bioaccumulation of the rare earth element Gadolinium in ciliate cells resulting in biogenic particle formation and excretion
Abstract Ciliates are abundant unicellular organisms capable of resisting high concentrations of metal ions in the environment caused by various anthropogenic activities. Understanding the cellular pathways involved in resistance to and detoxification of elements is required to predict the impact of...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-32596-3 |
| _version_ | 1797850120693219328 |
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| author | Jana Kohl Michael Schweikert Norbert Klaas Marie-Louise Lemloh |
| author_facet | Jana Kohl Michael Schweikert Norbert Klaas Marie-Louise Lemloh |
| author_sort | Jana Kohl |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Ciliates are abundant unicellular organisms capable of resisting high concentrations of metal ions in the environment caused by various anthropogenic activities. Understanding the cellular pathways involved in resistance to and detoxification of elements is required to predict the impact of ciliates on environmental element cycles. Here, we investigated the so far unknown process of tolerance, cellular uptake and bioaccumulation of the emerging rare earth element gadolinium (Gd) in the common ciliate Tetrahymena pyriformis. Gd treatment results in the intracellular formation and excretion of biogenic Gd-containing particles. This cellular process effectively removes dissolved Gd from the organic growth medium by 53.37% within 72 h. Based on light and electron microscopic observations, we postulate a detoxification pathway: Cells take up toxic Gd3+ ions from the medium by endocytosis, process them into stable Gd-containing particles within food vacuoles, and exocytose them. Stable biogenic particles can be isolated, which are relatively homogeneous and have a diameter of about 3 µm. They consist of the elements Gd, C, O, P, Na, Mg, K, and Ca. These findings broaden the view of metal ion accumulation by protists and are of relevance to understand environmental elemental cycles and may inspire approaches for metal recovery or bioremediation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T18:56:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b44a336206bd472e8e839ab611bb3cf9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T18:56:19Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-b44a336206bd472e8e839ab611bb3cf92023-04-09T11:12:25ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-04-0113111210.1038/s41598-023-32596-3Intracellular bioaccumulation of the rare earth element Gadolinium in ciliate cells resulting in biogenic particle formation and excretionJana Kohl0Michael Schweikert1Norbert Klaas2Marie-Louise Lemloh3Institute of Biomaterials and Biomolecular Systems, University of StuttgartInstitute of Biomaterials and Biomolecular Systems, University of StuttgartIWS, Research Facility for Subsurface Remediation (VEGAS), University of StuttgartSRF AMICA, University of StuttgartAbstract Ciliates are abundant unicellular organisms capable of resisting high concentrations of metal ions in the environment caused by various anthropogenic activities. Understanding the cellular pathways involved in resistance to and detoxification of elements is required to predict the impact of ciliates on environmental element cycles. Here, we investigated the so far unknown process of tolerance, cellular uptake and bioaccumulation of the emerging rare earth element gadolinium (Gd) in the common ciliate Tetrahymena pyriformis. Gd treatment results in the intracellular formation and excretion of biogenic Gd-containing particles. This cellular process effectively removes dissolved Gd from the organic growth medium by 53.37% within 72 h. Based on light and electron microscopic observations, we postulate a detoxification pathway: Cells take up toxic Gd3+ ions from the medium by endocytosis, process them into stable Gd-containing particles within food vacuoles, and exocytose them. Stable biogenic particles can be isolated, which are relatively homogeneous and have a diameter of about 3 µm. They consist of the elements Gd, C, O, P, Na, Mg, K, and Ca. These findings broaden the view of metal ion accumulation by protists and are of relevance to understand environmental elemental cycles and may inspire approaches for metal recovery or bioremediation.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-32596-3 |
| spellingShingle | Jana Kohl Michael Schweikert Norbert Klaas Marie-Louise Lemloh Intracellular bioaccumulation of the rare earth element Gadolinium in ciliate cells resulting in biogenic particle formation and excretion Scientific Reports |
| title | Intracellular bioaccumulation of the rare earth element Gadolinium in ciliate cells resulting in biogenic particle formation and excretion |
| title_full | Intracellular bioaccumulation of the rare earth element Gadolinium in ciliate cells resulting in biogenic particle formation and excretion |
| title_fullStr | Intracellular bioaccumulation of the rare earth element Gadolinium in ciliate cells resulting in biogenic particle formation and excretion |
| title_full_unstemmed | Intracellular bioaccumulation of the rare earth element Gadolinium in ciliate cells resulting in biogenic particle formation and excretion |
| title_short | Intracellular bioaccumulation of the rare earth element Gadolinium in ciliate cells resulting in biogenic particle formation and excretion |
| title_sort | intracellular bioaccumulation of the rare earth element gadolinium in ciliate cells resulting in biogenic particle formation and excretion |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-32596-3 |
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