Diversification and domain evolution of molluskan metallothioneins: a mini review

Abstract Background Metallothionein (MT) is a multifunctional protein playing important roles in homeostatic regulation and detoxification of metals. Mollusk species have been considered as useful sentinel platforms for MT-based biomarker approaches, and they have been reported to display an extraordinary structural diversity of MT proteins. However, potential diversity of molluskan MTs has not been fully explored and recent updates have suggested the need of revision of evolutionary hypothesis for molluskan MTs. Results Based on bioinformatic analysis and phylogenetic evidences, novel divergence mechanisms and paths were hypothesized in both gastropod and bivalve MT groups. Our analyses are suggestive of the taxon- or lineage-specific domain multiplication/duplication from the ancestral or prototypic MT. Diversification and selection of molluskan MTs might be driven by the needs for acquiring metal selectiveness, specialized novel function, and improved capacity of metal detoxification under environmentally stressed conditions. Conclusion The structural diversity and variations of molluskan MTs are significantly larger than previously understood. Undoubtedly, molluskan MTs have undergone dynamic divergent processes in their evolutionary histories, giving rise to the great diversity of domain structures in extant MT isoforms. Novel evolutionary paths for molluskan MTs newly proposed in this review could shed additional light onto the revision of the hypothesis for evolutionary differentiation of MTs in the molluskan lineage.