Biomethylation of Selenium and Tellurium:  Microorganisms and Plants

Chasteen, Thomas G.; Bentley, Ronald

doi:10.1021/cr010210+

Cited by 319 publications

(178 citation statements)

References 261 publications

(638 reference statements)

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“…This dissimilarity between the speciation of the trapping liquids and surface waters may be caused by a rapid exchange of volatile species from the aqueous phase with the atmosphere (volatile, methylated species of Se and S were only indirectly measured in the gaseous phase), or by plant-mediated volatilization. Many plants are known to directly secrete volatile (methylated) Se 13 , which does not necessarily involve transport through the surface water.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To start with production processes, methylation and volatilization of Se and S in the environment are known to be mainly the result of biocatalysis, involving different pathways in multistep enzymatic reactions 13,27 . The fact that trapped Se and S concentrations are positively correlated ( Supplementary Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The fact that trapped Se and S concentrations are positively correlated ( Supplementary Fig. 2), although S is volatilized to a much higher extent than Se on an absolute scale (on average up to a factor 335), might indicate that Se is volatilized by the same enzymatic system(s) as S due the chemical similarities between these elements 13,33 . For instance, thioether S-methyltransferase (EC 2.1.1.96) catalyses the methyl group transfer on DMSe and DMS with similar affinities (K m 1 and 0.4 mM, respectively) 36 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Biomethylation of sulphur (S) occurs in marine and terrestrial environments, and contributes significantly to the global biogeochemical S cycle (mostly via dimethyl sulphide (DMS)) 11 . Due to chemical similarities between Se and S, it has been postulated that the elements have similar biomethylation pathways 12,13 . Similarly to Se, arsenic (As) is a trace element irregularly distributed in soils and groundwater, and elevated levels of inorganic As in groundwater in Southeast Asia, for example, have resulted in serious human health problems 14 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since the (bio)geochemistry of Se and As is closely interlinked with S in many environments 13,20 , investigating the biogeochemical cycles of Se and As in relation to that of S is important. In this context, we study volatilization and surface concentrations of Se, S and As simultaneously from a minerotrophic peatland in Southern Switzerland (Fig.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Natural wetland emissions of methylated trace elements

et al. 2014

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Natural wetlands are well known for their significant methane emissions. However, trace element emissions via biomethylation and subsequent volatilization from pristine wetlands are virtually unstudied, even though wetlands constitute large reservoirs for trace elements. Here we show that the average volatile fluxes of selenium (o0.12 mg m À 2 day À 1 ), sulphur (o37 mg m À 2 day À 1 ) and arsenic (o0.54 mg m À 2 day À 1 ) from a pristine peatland are considerable and consistent over two summers. We compare these fluxes with the total concentrations in the peat and show that selenium is up to 40 times more efficiently volatilized than arsenic, and over 100 times more efficiently volatilized than sulphur. We further show that the volatilization of selenium and arsenic increases with temperature, implying that emissions of these health-relevant trace elements will increase with global warming. We suggest that biomethylation and volatilization in wetlands play a crucial role in the mobilization and global biogeochemical cycling of trace elements.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Natural wetland emissions of methylated trace elements

et al. 2014

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1-[(Methyltelluro)ethyl]benzene

Bowman

Fletcher

Pedersen

2005

Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis

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Organoselenium and organotellurium compounds: Toxicology and pharmacology

Nogueira

Rocha

2011

Patai's Chemistry of Functional Groups

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In the last three decades, the interest in the field of synthesis and reactivity of organoselenium and organotellurium compounds has increased; particularly, in view of the observations that they can exhibit important biological activities. The data presented in this chapter clearly indicate the potential pharmacological and therapeutic uses of organoselenium and organotellurium compounds. Indeed, these classes of molecules exhibit a variety of interesting biological effects, namely antioxidant properties, which can account for their in vitro and in vivo beneficial effects in a wide range of models of different human pathologies. We can conclude that the future of “medicinal chemistry“ of organoselenium and organotellurium compounds will depend on the rational development of new molecules, which can be guided by chemical and biological approaches. Moreover, the structure‐activity relationship for a given class of organoselenium or organotellurium compounds should be used as a toll for screening molecules with high probability of exhibiting low toxicity and high pharmacological activity in mammals.

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Biomethylation of Selenium and Tellurium: Microorganisms and Plants

Cited by 319 publications

References 261 publications

Natural wetland emissions of methylated trace elements

Natural wetland emissions of methylated trace elements

1-[(Methyltelluro)ethyl]benzene

Organoselenium and organotellurium compounds: Toxicology and pharmacology

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