Tetrahymena thermophila (T. thermophila) is a ciliated protozoon that can detect freshwater pollution by heavy metals ("whole-cell biosensor"). This work employed a systematic bioinformatics approach to predict and analyze the metalloproteome of T. thermophila for the essential Zn, Cu and the non-essential Cd. 3784 metal-binding proteins were identified compared to the 456 annotated so far in UniProt. The localization, functional classification, and the functionally enriched network of the newly identified metalloproteome are presented. Cd toxicity could be explained in terms of the metal replacing Cu and especially Zn in MAPKs, transporters and antioxidant enzymes. The predicted results for Cd toxicity and responses reflect those observed experimentally in different organisms after their exposure to Cd.
Keywords: Metal toxicity; Metalloproteins; Protozoa; Tetrahymena; Whole-cell biosensor (WCB).