The plasma membrane bound transporter COPPER TRANSPORTER 2 facilitates palladium uptake in Arabidopsis
- 1University of York
Abstract
Palladium (Pd), a technology critical platinum group metal, is increasingly lost to the environment through anthropogenic activity, yet the molecular basis of Pd uptake and tolerance in plants remains poorly understood. Here, we examine the role of the Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) COPT2 copper transporter in Pd transport and plant stress responses. Expression of COPT2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae conferred Pd sensitivity, indicating a capability for Pd transport. Arabidopsis copt2 loss-of-function mutants accumulated less Pd in shoots and exhibited reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, supporting a direct role for COPT2 in Pd distribution and associated oxidative stress. Our subsequent transcriptome profiling revealed extensive changes under Pd exposure, including downregulation of HMA2 and aquaporins, and upregulation of HMA7, glutathione transferases, and glutamine synthetase GLN1;1, consistent with the activation of metal detoxification and redox homeostasis pathways. Together, these findings identify COPT2 as a key transport protein mediating the uptake of Pd in Arabidopsis and suggest that Pd induces similar detoxification mechanisms as zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and cadmium (Cd), providing a foundation for engineering plants for precious metal recovery.
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BibTeX
@misc{dobson2026plasma,
title = {{The plasma membrane bound transporter COPPER TRANSPORTER 2 facilitates palladium uptake in Arabidopsis}},
author = {J. A. Dobson and J. Jagielska and F. Maathuis and N. C. Bruce and E. L. Rylott},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.17.752439},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.17.752439v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - The plasma membrane bound transporter COPPER TRANSPORTER 2 facilitates palladium uptake in Arabidopsis
AU - J. A. Dobson
AU - J. Jagielska
AU - F. Maathuis
AU - N. C. Bruce
AU - E. L. Rylott
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/17
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.17.752439
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.17.752439v1
AB - Palladium (Pd), a technology critical platinum group metal, is increasingly lost to the environment through anthropogenic activity, yet the molecular basis of Pd uptake and tolerance in plants remains poorly understood. Here, we examine the role of the Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) COPT2 copper transporter in Pd transport and plant stress responses. Expression of COPT2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae conferred Pd sensitivity, indicating a capability for Pd transport. Arabidopsis copt2 loss-of-function mutants accumulated less Pd in shoots and exhibited reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, supporting a direct role for COPT2 in Pd distribution and associated oxidative stress. Our subsequent transcriptome profiling revealed extensive changes under Pd exposure, including downregulation of HMA2 and aquaporins, and upregulation of HMA7, glutathione transferases, and glutamine synthetase GLN1;1, consistent with the activation of metal detoxification and redox homeostasis pathways. Together, these findings identify COPT2 as a key transport protein mediating the uptake of Pd in Arabidopsis and suggest that Pd induces similar detoxification mechanisms as zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and cadmium (Cd), providing a foundation for engineering plants for precious metal recovery.
ER -