Arsenic-Microbe-Mineral Interactions in Mining-Affected Environments

Hudson‐Edwards, Karen A.; Santini, Joanne M.

doi:10.3390/min3040337

Cited by 21 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Microorganisms are fundamental to elemental cycling in all environments, and this includes As (12,13) and presumably Sb, although information for the latter is quite sparse. As cycling has been well documented and at present is thought primarily to involve arsenite [As(III)]Narsenate [As(V)] redox transformations and As methylation and demethylation reactions.…”

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confidence: 99%

Arsenite Oxidase Also Functions as an Antimonite Oxidase

Wang

Warelow

Kang

et al. 2015

Appl Environ Microbiol

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e Arsenic and antimony are toxic metalloids and are considered priority environmental pollutants by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Significant advances have been made in understanding microbe-arsenic interactions and how they influence arsenic redox speciation in the environment. However, even the most basic features of how and why a microorganism detects and reacts to antimony remain poorly understood. Previous work with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain 5A concluded that oxidation of antimonite [Sb(III)] and arsenite [As(III)] required different biochemical pathways. Here, we show with in vivo experiments that a mutation in aioA [encoding the large subunit of As(III) oxidase] reduces the ability to oxidize Sb(III) by approximately one-third relative to the ability of the wild type. Further, in vitro studies with the purified As(III) oxidase from Rhizobium sp. strain NT-26 (AioA shares 94% amino acid sequence identity with AioA of A. tumefaciens) provide direct evidence of Sb(III) oxidation but also show a significantly decreased V max compared to that of As(III) oxidation. The aioBA genes encoding As(III) oxidase are induced by As(III) but not by Sb(III), whereas arsR gene expression is induced by both As(III) and Sb(III), suggesting that detection and transcriptional responses for As(III) and Sb(III) differ. While Sb(III) and As(III) are similar with respect to cellular extrusion (ArsB or Acr3) and interaction with ArsR, they differ in the regulatory mechanisms that control the expression of genes encoding the different Ars or Aio activities. In summary, this study documents an enzymatic basis for microbial Sb(III) oxidation, although additional Sb(III) oxidation activity also is apparent in this bacterium. T he metalloids arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb) are members of group 15 of the periodic table and are ubiquitous in the environment. Both are poisonous and have oxidation states of Ϫ3, 0, ϩ3, and ϩ5, with the last two being the most prevalent in the environment (1-5). The release of both As and Sb into the environment can occur either naturally or anthropogenically (e.g., mining), and both are considered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to be priority environmental pollutants (6), with maximum drinking water standards of 10 ppb and 6 ppb for As and Sb, respectively (7). As has received more publicity due to As poisoning that has occurred and that continues (4, 8). However, Sb has emerged as a major contaminant in environments that contain mine tailings, such as those in China, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Europe (for example, see references 5 and 9-11).Microorganisms are fundamental to elemental cycling in all environments, and this includes As (12, 13) and presumably Sb, although information for the latter is quite sparse. As cycling has been well documented and at present is thought primarily to involve arsenite [As(III)]Narsenate [As(V)] redox transformations and As methylation and demethylation reactions. As(V) is reduced for detoxification purposes (via ArsC) or respiratory...

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confidence: 99%

Arsenite Oxidase Also Functions as an Antimonite Oxidase

Wang

Warelow

Kang

et al. 2015

Appl Environ Microbiol

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“…The biogeochemical cycling of As is closely related to the biogeochemical cycling of other elements such as Fe, Mn, N, S and Cl (Edwards and Santini, 2013). Chemically and microbially mediated oxidation-reduction processes influence the dissolved As level in different ecological niches.…”

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confidence: 99%

Diversity of arsenite oxidizing bacterial communities in arsenic-rich deltaic aquifers in West Bengal, India

Ghosh¹,

Bhadury²,

Routh³

2014

Front. Microbiol.

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High arsenic (As) concentration in groundwater has affected human health, particularly in South-East Asia putting millions of people at risk. Biogeochemical cycling of As carried out by different bacterial groups are suggested to control the As fluxes in aquifers. A functional diversity approach in link with As precipitation was adopted to study bacterial community structures and their variation within the As contaminated Bengal Delta Plain (BDP) aquifers of India. Groundwater samples collected from two shallow aquifers in Karimpur II (West Bengal, India), during years 2010 and 2011, were investigated to trace the effects immediately after monsoon period (precipitation) on community structure and diversity of bacterial assemblages with a focus on arsenite oxidizing bacterial phyla for two successive years. The study focused on amplification, clone library generation and sequencing of the arsenite oxidase large sub-unit gene aioA and 16S rRNA marker, with respect to changes in elemental concentrations. New set of primers were designed to amplify the aioA gene as a phylogenetic marker to study taxonomically diverse arsenite oxidizing bacterial groups in these aquifers. The overall narrow distribution of bacterial communities based on aioA and 16S rRNA sequences observed was due to poor nutrient status and anoxic conditions in these As contaminated aquifers. Proteobacteria was the dominant phylum detected, within which Acidovorax, Hydrogenophaga, Albidiferax, Bosea, and Polymorphum were the major arsenite oxidizing bacterial genera based on the number of clones sequenced. The structure of bacterial assemblages including those of arsenite oxidizing bacteria seems to have been affected by increase in major elemental concentrations (e.g., As, Fe, S, and Si) within two sampling sessions, which was supported by statistical analyses. One of the significant findings of this study is detection of novel lineages of 16S rRNA-like bacterial sequences indicating presence of indigenous bacterial communities BDP wells that can play important role in biogeochemical cycling of elements including As.

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“…There are more than 300 As-bearing minerals, among which, realgar mine (As 4 S 4 ) is less common (Hudson-Edwards and Santini, 2013). The Shimen Realgar Mine of Hunangradually led to severe As contamination of the soil-water systems in the mining area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The molecular diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the arsenic mining impacted sites in Hunan Province of China

Sun

Zhang

et al. 2016

Journal of Environmental Sciences

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Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can establish a mutualistic association with most terrestrial plants even in heavy metal contaminated environments. It has been documented that high concentrations of toxic metals, such as arsenic (As) in soil could adversely affect the diversity and function of AMF. However, there are still gaps in understanding the community composition of AMF under long-term As contaminations. In the present study, six sampling sites with different As concentrations were selected in the Realgar mining area in Hunan Province of China. The AMF biodiversity in the rhizosphere soils of the dominant plant species was investigated by sequencing the nuclear small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene fragments using 454-pyrosequencing technique. A total of 11 AMF genera were identified, namely Rhizophagus, Glomus, Funneliformis, Acaulospora, Diversispora, Claroideoglomus, Scutellopora, Gigaspora, Ambispora, Praglomus, and Archaeospora, among which Glomus, Rhizophagus, and Claroideoglomus clarodeum were detected in all sampling sites, and Glomus was the dominant AMF genus in the Realgar mining area. Redundancy analysis indicated that soil pH, total As and Cd concentrations were the main factors influencing AMF community structure. There was a negative correlation between the AMF species richness and the total As concentration in the soil, but no significant correlation between the Shannon-Wiener index of the AMF and plants. Our study showed that high As concentrations can exert a selective effect on the AMF populations.

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Arsenic-Microbe-Mineral Interactions in Mining-Affected Environments

Cited by 21 publications

References 69 publications

Arsenite Oxidase Also Functions as an Antimonite Oxidase

Arsenite Oxidase Also Functions as an Antimonite Oxidase

Diversity of arsenite oxidizing bacterial communities in arsenic-rich deltaic aquifers in West Bengal, India

The molecular diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the arsenic mining impacted sites in Hunan Province of China

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