Arsenic and Microorganisms: Genes, Molecular Mechanisms, and Recent Advances in Microbial Arsenic Bioremediation

Abstract

Throughout history, cases of arsenic poisoning have been reported worldwide, and the highly toxic effects of arsenic to humans, plants, and animals are well documented. Continued anthropogenic activities related to arsenic contamination in soil and water, as well as its persistency and lethality, have allowed arsenic to remain a pollutant of high interest and concern. Constant scrutiny has eventually resulted in new and better techniques to mitigate it. Among these, microbial remediation has emerged as one of the most important due to its reliability, safety, and sustainability. Over the years, numerous microorganisms have been successfully shown to remove arsenic from various environmental matrices. This review provides an overview of the interactions between microorganisms and arsenic, the different mechanisms utilized by microorganisms to detoxify arsenic, as well as current trends in the field of microbial-based bioremediation of arsenic. While the potential of microbial bioremediation of arsenic is notable, further studies focusing on the field-scale applicability of this technology is warranted.

The ancient Z-DNA and Z-RNA specific Zα fold has evolved modern roles in immunity and transcription through the natural selection of flipons

“…The arsR protein was first identified as a trans-regulator of bacterial responses to arsenic, providing an example of the way organisms sense and respond to environmental toxins [ 91 ]. The effects of arsenic are pleiotropic, ranging from oxidative DNA damage to altered DNA methylation to effects on iron–sulphur clusters [ 92 ]. Of course, it is possible that the arsenite can directly induce Z-DNA formation, as seen when other highly valent metals bond with the N7 of purines [ 93 , 94 ].…”

HarbouringStarships: The accumulation of large Horizontal Gene Transfers in Domesticated and Pathogenic Fungi

“…Although arsenic is a naturally occurring toxic compound present ubiquitously in the environment, elevated concentrations are found in certain areas due to human-activities such as mining and agriculture (Patel et al, 2023;Tchounwou et al, 2012). Arsenic resistance has evolved many times (William & Magpantay, 2024), including the ACR cluster in S. cerevisiae (Bobrowicz et al, 1997;Stefanini et al, 2022) and there is also evidence for the horizontal transmission of arsenic resistance genes by large ICE elements in bacteria (Arai et al, 2019). An arsenic cluster found within the Starship Hephaestus contains five genes (arsH, arsC, arsB, Pho80 and arsM) and confers arsenic resistance in the environmental fungus Paecilomyces variotii (Urquhart et al, 2022).…”