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A Bacterium That Can Grow by Using Arsenic Instead of Phosphorus

2010; American Association for the Advancement of Science; Volume: 332; Issue: 6034 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1126/science.1197258

1095-9203

Felisa Wolfe‐Simon, Jodi Switzer Blum, Thomas R. Kulp, Gwyneth W. Gordon, Shelley E. Hoeft, Jennifer Pett‐Ridge, John F. Stolz, Samuel M. Webb, Peter Weber, Paul Davies, Ariel D. Anbar, Ronald S. Oremland,

Chromium effects and bioremediation

Life is mostly composed of the elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and phosphorus. Although these six elements make up nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids and thus the bulk of living matter, it is theoretically possible that some other elements in the periodic table could serve the same functions. Here, we describe a bacterium, strain GFAJ-1 of the Halomonadaceae, isolated from Mono Lake, California, that is able to substitute arsenic for phosphorus to sustain its growth. Our data show evidence for arsenate in macromolecules that normally contain phosphate, most notably nucleic acids and proteins. Exchange of one of the major bio-elements may have profound evolutionary and geochemical importance.