Think outside the box: selenium volatilization altered by a broccoli gene in the ubiquinone biosynthetic pathway

Selenium metabolism has been an area of active research because of the essentiality as well as toxicity of selenium to animals and humans. Biologically based selenium volatilization has been a particular area of interest for its potential in making detoxification of selenium pollution highly effective. Recently, we have isolated a broccoli BoCOQ5-2 methyltransferase gene involved in the ubiquinone biosynthetic pathway and found that it promoted selenium volatilization in both bacteria and plants. The identification of BoCOQ5-2 methyltransferase as a facilitator of selenium volatilization showed that selenium metabolism is regulated by other metabolic processes outside of the selenium/sulfur metabolic pathway. The interplay between ubiquinone and selenium metabolisms is possible through the protective function of ubiquinone against oxidative stresses induced by selenium. This observation could lead to new approaches to enhance selenium phytoremediation.