Water and soil contaminated by arsenic: the use of microorganisms and plants in bioremediation

Abstract

Owing to their roles in the arsenic (As) biogeochemical cycle, microorganisms and plants offer significant potential for developing innovative biotechnological applications able to remediate As pollutions. This possible use in bioremediation processes and phytomanagement is based on their ability to catalyse various biotransformation reactions leading to, e.g. the precipitation, dissolution, and sequestration of As, stabilisation in the root zone and shoot As removal. On the one hand, genomic studies of microorganisms and their communities are useful in understanding their metabolic activities and their interaction with As. On the other hand, our knowledge of molecular mechanisms and fate of As in plants has been improved by laboratory and field experiments. Such studies pave new avenues for developing environmentally friendly bioprocessing options targeting As, which worldwide represents a major risk to many ecosystems and human health.

Arsenite oxidase in complex with antimonite and arsenite oxyanions: Insights into the catalytic mechanism

“…The elucidation of the catalytic mechanism and the knowledge of the molecular determinants for catalysis are vital in the design of new and improved arsenite oxidases with higher stability and substrate specificity. These unique enzymes are very suitable candidates for biotechnological applications for the development of biosensors for As(III/V) and Sb(III/V) using engineered enzymes, as well as for bioremediation of these toxic species, where robust and reliable systems are still lacking ( 28 , 30 , 38 , 39 , 40 ).…”

“…1 ). The unusual features of this enzyme and its importance in bioremediation/biosensing aroused the interest of the scientific community in the last 2 decades ( 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ). A proposed mechanism of arsenite oxidation at the Mo center was suggested based on the X-ray structures of the free enzyme, cyclic voltammetry, EXAFS, and density-functional theory (DFT) calculations ( 25 , 26 , 31 , 32 ).…”

Removal of Arsenic from Wastewater through Bacteria

“…The effectiveness of bacterial arsenic removal can furthermore be impacted by the presence of heavy metals, which can affect bacterial growth and activity. [9] This evaluation article aims to give an overview of the function of bacteria in the removal of arsenic from wastewater. It covers the mechanisms by which bacteria can transform or adsorb arsenic, the factors that affect bacterial performance in arsenic removal, and the various bacterial strains that have been studied for this purpose.…”