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Biochemistry: a cadmium enzyme from a marine diatom
Todd W Lane1, Mak A Saito, Graham N George
1Biosystems Research Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California 94551-0969, USA.
Abstract:
The ocean biota contains a vast reservoir of genomic diversity. Here we present the sequence and preliminary characterization of a protein that is a cadmium-containing carbonic anhydrase from the marine diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii. The existence of a cadmium enzyme in marine phytoplankton may indicate that there is a unique selection pressure for metalloenzymes in the marine environment, and our discovery provides a long-awaited explanation for the nutrient-like behaviour of cadmium in the oceans.
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