<Emphasis Type="Italic">GST</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">phi</Emphasis>) gene from Macrophyte <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lemna minor</Emphasis> is involved in cadmium exposure responses

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers, including ascorbate peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidase, are the most commonly used biomarkers in assessing an organisms’ response to many biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, we cloned an 866 bp GST (phi) gene in Lemna minor and investigated its characteristics, expression and enzymatic activities under 75 μmol/L cadmium concentrations in comparison with other ROS scavengers. GST (phi) gene expression patterns were similar to those of other scavengers of ROS. This suggests that GST (phi) might be involved in responding to heavy metal (cadmium) stress and that its expression level could be used as a bio-indicator in monitoring cadmium pollution.