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Flexible bacterial strains that oxidize arsenite in anoxic or aerobic conditions and utilize hydrogen or acetate as alternative electron donors

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Abstract

Arsenic is a carcinogenic compound widely distributed in the groundwater around the world. The fate of arsenic in groundwater depends on the activity of microorganisms either by oxidizing arsenite (AsIII), or by reducing arsenate (AsV). Because of the higher toxicity and mobility of AsIII compared to AsV, microbial-catalyzed oxidation of AsIII to AsV can lower the environmental impact of arsenic. Although aerobic AsIII-oxidizing bacteria are well known, anoxic oxidation of AsIII with nitrate as electron acceptor has also been shown to occur. In this study, three AsIII-oxidizing bacterial strains, Azoarcus sp. strain EC1-pb1, Azoarcus sp. strain EC3-pb1 and Diaphorobacter sp. strain MC-pb1, have been characterized. Each strain was tested for its ability to oxidize AsIII with four different electron acceptors, nitrate, nitrite, chlorate and oxygen. Complete AsIII oxidation was achieved with both nitrate and oxygen, demonstrating the novel ability of these bacterial strains to oxidize AsIII in either anoxic or aerobic conditions. Nitrate was only reduced to nitrite. Different electron donors were used to study their suitability in supporting nitrate reduction. Hydrogen and acetate were readily utilized by all the cultures. The flexibility of these AsIII-oxidizing bacteria to use oxygen and nitrate to oxidize AsIII as well as organic and inorganic substrates as alternative electron donors explains their presence in non-arsenic-contaminated environments. The findings suggest that at least some AsIII-oxidizing bacteria are flexible with respect to electron-acceptors and electron-donors and that they are potentially widespread in low arsenic concentration environments.

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Acknowledgments

The work presented here was funded by a U.S. Geological Survey, National Institute for Water Resources 104G grant (2005AZ114G), and by a grant of the National Institute of Environment and Health Sciences-supported Superfund Basic Research Program (NIH ES-04940). The use of trade, product, or firm names in this report is for descriptive purposes only and does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Geological Survey.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, P.O. Box 210011, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Lucía Rodríguez-Freire, Wenjie Sun, Reyes Sierra-Alvarez & Jim A. Field

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  1. Lucía Rodríguez-Freire
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  2. Wenjie Sun
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  3. Reyes Sierra-Alvarez
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  4. Jim A. Field
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Correspondence to Lucía Rodríguez-Freire.

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Rodríguez-Freire, L., Sun, W., Sierra-Alvarez, R. et al. Flexible bacterial strains that oxidize arsenite in anoxic or aerobic conditions and utilize hydrogen or acetate as alternative electron donors. Biodegradation 23, 133–143 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-011-9493-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-011-9493-x

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