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Dissimilatory arsenate-respiring prokaryotes catalyze the dissolution, reduction and release of arsenic from paddy soils into groundwater: implication for the effect of sulfate

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Abstract

The paddy soils in some areas in Jianghan Plain were severely contaminated by arsenic. However, little is known about the activity and diversity of the dissimilatory arsenate-respiring prokaryotes (DARPs) in the paddy soils, and the effects of sulfate on the microbial mobilization and release of arsenic from soils into solution. To address this issue, we collected arsenic-rich soils from the depths of 1.6 and 4.6 m in a paddy region in the Xiantao city, Hubei Province, China. Microcosm assays indicated that all of the soils have significant arsenate-respiring activities using lactate, pyruvate or acetate as the sole electron donor. Functional gene cloning and analysis suggest that there are diverse DARPs in the indigenous microbial communities of the soils. They efficiently promoted the mobilization, reduction and release of arsenic and iron from soils under anaerobic conditions. Remarkably, when sulfate was amended into the microcosms, the microorganisms-catalyzed reduction and release of arsenic and iron were significantly increased. We further found that sulfate significantly enhanced the arsenate-respiring reductase gene abundances in the soils. Taken together, a diversity of DARPs in the paddy soils significantly catalyzed the dissolution, reduction and release of arsenic and iron from insoluble phase into solution, and the presence of sulfate significantly increased the microbial reactions.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41472219 and 41521001).

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  1. These two authors contributed equally: Wanxia Shi, Weiwei Wu.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology & School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan, 430074, People’s Republic of China

    Wanxia Shi, Weiwei Wu, Xian-Chun Zeng, Xiaoming Chen, Xianbin Zhu & Shenggao Cheng

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  1. Wanxia Shi
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  2. Weiwei Wu
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  3. Xian-Chun Zeng
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Correspondence to Xian-Chun Zeng or Shenggao Cheng.

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No specific permissions were required for the collection of samples from this hot spring. Moreover, this location did not involve endangered and protected species and it is not under regulatory body concerned with protection of wildlife. of interest.

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Shi, W., Wu, W., Zeng, XC. et al. Dissimilatory arsenate-respiring prokaryotes catalyze the dissolution, reduction and release of arsenic from paddy soils into groundwater: implication for the effect of sulfate. Ecotoxicology 27, 1126–1136 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-018-1967-8

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