Abstract
Researchers of Rutgers University have isolated autotrophic microorganisms that can derive energy from arsenite oxidation in the absence of oxygen. First, they established enrichment cultures from an arsenic-contaminated industrial soil amended with arsenite as the electron donor, inorganic carbon as the carbon source, and nitrate as the electron acceptor. Oxidation of the arsenite by the organisms was stoichiometrically coupled to the reduction of nitrate. Second, they isolated two autotrophic strains that completely oxidized 5 mM of arsenite within seven days, under denitrifying conditions. DNA sequencing showed that one strain was closely related to Azoarcus and the other to Sinorhizobium. Amplifying their nitrous oxide reductase and the RuBisCO Type II (cbbM) genes confirmed their ability to denitrify and fix carbon dioxide while coupled to arsenite oxidation.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 4 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Volume | 28 |
| No | 2 |
| Specialist publication | Industrial Bioprocessing |
| State | Published - Feb 2006 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biotechnology
- Biochemistry
- General Chemical Engineering
- Organic Chemistry