Insights Into Arsenite and Arsenate Uptake Pathways Using a Whole Cell Biosensor

Despite its high toxicity and widespread occurrence in many parts of the world, arsenic (As) concentrations in decentralized water supplies such as domestic wells remain often unquantified. One limitation to effective monitoring is the high cost and lack of portability of current arsenic speciation...

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Published in:Frontiers in Microbiology
Main Authors: Pothier, Martin P., Hinz, Aaron J., Poulain, Alexandre J.
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6176005/
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02310
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spelling ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:6176005 2023-05-15T18:45:43+02:00 Insights Into Arsenite and Arsenate Uptake Pathways Using a Whole Cell Biosensor Pothier, Martin P. Hinz, Aaron J. Poulain, Alexandre J. 2018-10-02 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6176005/ https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02310 en eng Frontiers Media S.A. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6176005/ http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02310 Copyright © 2018 Pothier, Hinz and Poulain. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. CC-BY Microbiology Text 2018 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02310 2018-10-21T00:17:46Z Despite its high toxicity and widespread occurrence in many parts of the world, arsenic (As) concentrations in decentralized water supplies such as domestic wells remain often unquantified. One limitation to effective monitoring is the high cost and lack of portability of current arsenic speciation techniques. Here, we present an arsenic biosensor assay capable of quantifying and determining the bioavailable fraction of arsenic species at environmentally relevant concentrations. First, we found that inorganic phosphate, a buffering agent and nutrient commonly found in most bioassay exposure media, was in fact limiting As(V) uptake, possibly explaining the variability in As(V) detection reported so far. Second, we show that the nature of the carbon source used in the bioassay differentially affects the response of the biosensor to As(III). Finally, our data support the existence of non-specific reduction pathways (non-ars encoded) that are responsible for the reduction of As(V) to As(III), allowing its detection by the biosensor. To validate our laboratory approach using field samples, we performed As(III) and As(V) standard additions on natural water samples collected from 17 lakes surrounding Giant Mine in Yellowknife (NWT), Canada. We found that legacy arsenic contamination in these lake water samples was accurately quantified by the biosensor. Interestingly, bioavailability of freshly added standards showed signs of matrix interference, indicative of dynamic interactions between As(III), As(V) and environmental constituents that have yet to be identified. Our results point toward dissolved organic carbon as possibly controlling these interactions, thus altering As bioavailability. Text Yellowknife PubMed Central (PMC) Canada Yellowknife Frontiers in Microbiology 9
institution Open Polar
collection PubMed Central (PMC)
op_collection_id ftpubmed
language English
topic Microbiology
spellingShingle Microbiology
Pothier, Martin P.
Hinz, Aaron J.
Poulain, Alexandre J.
Insights Into Arsenite and Arsenate Uptake Pathways Using a Whole Cell Biosensor
topic_facet Microbiology
description Despite its high toxicity and widespread occurrence in many parts of the world, arsenic (As) concentrations in decentralized water supplies such as domestic wells remain often unquantified. One limitation to effective monitoring is the high cost and lack of portability of current arsenic speciation techniques. Here, we present an arsenic biosensor assay capable of quantifying and determining the bioavailable fraction of arsenic species at environmentally relevant concentrations. First, we found that inorganic phosphate, a buffering agent and nutrient commonly found in most bioassay exposure media, was in fact limiting As(V) uptake, possibly explaining the variability in As(V) detection reported so far. Second, we show that the nature of the carbon source used in the bioassay differentially affects the response of the biosensor to As(III). Finally, our data support the existence of non-specific reduction pathways (non-ars encoded) that are responsible for the reduction of As(V) to As(III), allowing its detection by the biosensor. To validate our laboratory approach using field samples, we performed As(III) and As(V) standard additions on natural water samples collected from 17 lakes surrounding Giant Mine in Yellowknife (NWT), Canada. We found that legacy arsenic contamination in these lake water samples was accurately quantified by the biosensor. Interestingly, bioavailability of freshly added standards showed signs of matrix interference, indicative of dynamic interactions between As(III), As(V) and environmental constituents that have yet to be identified. Our results point toward dissolved organic carbon as possibly controlling these interactions, thus altering As bioavailability.
format Text
author Pothier, Martin P.
Hinz, Aaron J.
Poulain, Alexandre J.
author_facet Pothier, Martin P.
Hinz, Aaron J.
Poulain, Alexandre J.
author_sort Pothier, Martin P.
title Insights Into Arsenite and Arsenate Uptake Pathways Using a Whole Cell Biosensor
title_short Insights Into Arsenite and Arsenate Uptake Pathways Using a Whole Cell Biosensor
title_full Insights Into Arsenite and Arsenate Uptake Pathways Using a Whole Cell Biosensor
title_fullStr Insights Into Arsenite and Arsenate Uptake Pathways Using a Whole Cell Biosensor
title_full_unstemmed Insights Into Arsenite and Arsenate Uptake Pathways Using a Whole Cell Biosensor
title_sort insights into arsenite and arsenate uptake pathways using a whole cell biosensor
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
publishDate 2018
url http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6176005/
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02310
geographic Canada
Yellowknife
geographic_facet Canada
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op_relation http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6176005/
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02310
op_rights Copyright © 2018 Pothier, Hinz and Poulain.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
op_rightsnorm CC-BY
op_doi https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02310
container_title Frontiers in Microbiology
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