Molecular Analysis of Arsenate-Reducing Bacteria within Cambodian Sediments following Amendment with Acetate

The health of millions is threatened by the use of groundwater contaminated with sediment-derived arsenic for drinking water and irrigation purposes in Southeast Asia. The microbial reduction of sorbed As(V) to the potentially more mobile As(III) has been implicated in release of arsenic into ground...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2007-02, Vol.73 (4), p.1041-1048
Main Authors: Lear, G, Song, B, Gault, A.G, Polya, D.A, Lloyd, J.R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acetates - pharmacology
Arsenates - metabolism
Arsenic
Bacteria
Bacteria - classification
Bacteria - drug effects
Bacteria - genetics
Bacteria - metabolism
Biological and medical sciences
Contaminated sediments
Desulfotomaculum
Environmental Microbiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Geobacter
Geologic Sediments - microbiology
Groundwater pollution
Microbiology
Molecular Sequence Data
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - analysis
Sulfurospirillum barnesii
Water Microbiology
Water Pollution, Chemical
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Summary:The health of millions is threatened by the use of groundwater contaminated with sediment-derived arsenic for drinking water and irrigation purposes in Southeast Asia. The microbial reduction of sorbed As(V) to the potentially more mobile As(III) has been implicated in release of arsenic into groundwater, but to date there have been few studies of the microorganisms that can mediate this transformation in aquifers. With the use of stable isotope probing of nucleic acids, we present evidence that the introduction of a proxy for organic matter (¹³C-labeled acetate) stimulated As(V) reduction in sediments collected from a Cambodian aquifer that hosts arsenic-rich groundwater. This was accompanied by an increase in the proportion of prokaryotes closely related to the dissimilatory As(V)-reducing bacteria Sulfurospirillum strain NP-4 and Desulfotomaculum auripigmentum. As(V) respiratory reductase genes (arrA) closely associated with those found in Sulfurospirillum barnesii and Geobacter uraniumreducens were also detected in active bacterial communities utilizing ¹³C-labeled acetate in microcosms. This study suggests a direct link between inputs of organic matter and the increased prevalence and activity of organisms which transform As(V) to the potentially more mobile and thus hazardous As(III) via dissimilatory As(V) reduction.
ISSN:0099-2240
1098-5336
DOI:10.1128/AEM.01654-06