A Study on Identification of Chromium (Cr) Metal Binding Sites in Earthworm Eisenia fetida using Bioinformatics Tool

The application of Eisenia fetida earthworm species in bioremediating contaminated soil brings about a reduction in the concentration of pollutants by means of a bioaccumulation mechanism of the contaminants in the earthworm’s body. The present in silico investigation involves the study of the accumulation of chromium metal in the body of Eisenia fetida. The methodology of this study involves molecular drug docking and H-bond interaction studies using advanced automated drug docking servers for viewing the accumulation of chromium metal in the Metallothionein (MT_EISFE) protein of Eisenia fetida. The results clearly show that Eisenia fetida have a high content of cysteine residues that bind with various heavy metals. Our results also coincide with the formerly-proven wet lab results. It was finally concluded that Chromium metal directly binds at the Cysteine-rich amino acid positions of MT_EISFE. These findings have shown that Eisenia fetida is capable of accumulating Chromium metal in its body based on the expression of MT_EISFE protein. This entire In silico study clearly outlines the accumulation of metals in a particular species of earthworm.