The legless lizard Anguis fragilis (slow worm) has a potent metal-responsive transcription factor 1 (MTF-1).

Oleg Georgiev, Viola Günther, Kurt Steiner, Katharina Schönrath, Walter Schaffner

Biological chemistry 2014 Apr

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The metal-responsive transcription factor-1 (MTF-1) is a key regulator of heavy metal homeostasis and detoxification. Here we characterize the first MTF-1 from a reptile, the slow worm Anguis fragilis. The slow worm, or blind worm, is a legless lizard also known for its long lifespan of up to several decades. Anguis MTF-1 performs well and matches the strong zinc and cadmium response of its human ortholog, clearly surpassing the activity of rodent MTF-1s. Some amino acid positions critical for metal response are the same in humans and slow worm but not in rodent MTF-1. This points to a divergent evolution of rodent MTF-1, and we speculate that rodents can afford a less sophisticated metal handling than humans and (some) reptiles.

Citation

Oleg Georgiev, Viola Günther, Kurt Steiner, Katharina Schönrath, Walter Schaffner. The legless lizard Anguis fragilis (slow worm) has a potent metal-responsive transcription factor 1 (MTF-1). Biological chemistry. 2014 Apr;395(4):425-31