Identification of Steps in the Pathway of Arsenosugar Biosynthesis.

ABSTRACT: Arsenosugars are arsenic-containing ribosides that play a substantial role in arsenic biogeochemical cycles. Arsenosugars were identified more than 30 years ago, and yet their mechanism of biosynthesis remains unknown. In this study we report identification of the arsS gene from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and show that it is involved in arsenosugar biosynthesis. In the Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 ars operon, arsS is adjacent to the arsM gene that encodes an As(III) S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) methyltransferase. The gene product, ArsS, contains a characteristic CX₃CX₂C motif which is typical for the radical SAM superfamily. The function of ArsS was identified from a combination of arsS disruption in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and heterologous expressio

SUBMITTER: Xue XM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6467767 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature