Complete arsenic-based respiratory cycle in the marine microbial communities of pelagic oxygen-deficient zones.

ABSTRACT: Microbial capacity to metabolize arsenic is ancient, arising in response to its pervasive presence in the environment, which was largely in the form of As(III) in the early anoxic ocean. Many biological arsenic transformations are aimed at mitigating toxicity; however, some microorganisms can respire compounds of this redox-sensitive element to reap energetic gains. In several modern anoxic marine systems concentrations of As(V) are higher relative to As(III) than what would be expected from the thermodynamic equilibrium, but the mechanism for this discrepancy has remained unknown. Here we present evidence of a complete respiratory arsenic cycle, consisting of dissimilatory As(V) reduction and chemoautotrophic As(III) oxidation, in the pelagic ocean. We identified the presence of genes enc

SUBMITTER: Saunders JK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6525544 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature