Wild watermelon (Citrullus lanatus sp.) has the ability to tolerate severe drought/high light stress conditions despite carrying out normal C-3-type photosynthesis. Here, mRNA differential display was employed to isolate drought-responsive genes in the leaves of wild watermelon. One of the isolated genes, CLMT2. shared significant homology with type-2 metallothionein (MT) sequences from other plants. The second-order rate constant for the reaction between a recombinant CLMT2 protein and hydroxyl radicals was estimated to be 1.2 x 10(11) M(-1)s(-1), demonstrating that CLMT2 had an extraordinary high activity for detoxifying hydroxyl radicals. Moreover, hydroxyl radical-catalyzed degradation of watermelon genomic DNA was effectively suppressed by CLMT2 in vitro. This is the first demonstration of a plant MT with antioxidant properties. The results suggest that CLMT2 induction contributes to the survival of wild watermelon under severe drought/high light stress conditions. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.