Microbial Arsenic Methylation in Soil and Uptake and Metabolism of Methylated Arsenic in Plants: A Review

Xuerong Di, Luke Beesley, Zulin Zhang, Suli Zhi, Yan Jia and Yongzhen Ding
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Xuerong Di: Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin 300191, China
Luke Beesley: The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH, UK
Zulin Zhang: The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH, UK
Suli Zhi: Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin 300191, China
Yan Jia: Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Yongzhen Ding: Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin 300191, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 24, 1-13

Abstract: Arsenic (As) poses a risk to the human health in excess exposure and microbes play an important role in the toxicity of As. Arsenic methylation mediated by microbes is a key driver of As toxicity in the environment and this paper reviews the role of microbial arsenic methylation and volatilization in the biogeochemical cycle of arsenic. In specific, little is presently known about the molecular mechanism and gene characterization of arsenic methylation. The uptake of methylated arsenic in plants is influenced by microbial arsenic methylation in soil, thus enhancing the volatilization of methylated arsenic is a potential mitigation point for arsenic mobility and toxicity in the environment. On the other hand, the potential risk of methylated arsenic on organisms is also discussed. And the directions for future research, theoretical reference for the control and remediation of arsenic methylation, are presented.

Keywords: arsenic methylation; arsenic volatilization; microbes; bioremediation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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