Arsenic Mobilization and Transformation by Ammonium-Generating Bacteria Isolated from High Arsenic Groundwater in Hetao Plain, China

Zhou Jiang, Xin Shen, Bo Shi, Mengjie Cui, Yanhong Wang and Ping Li
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Zhou Jiang: School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Xin Shen: School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Bo Shi: School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Mengjie Cui: School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Yanhong Wang: State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Ping Li: State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-15

Abstract: Arsenic (As) mobilization in groundwater involves biogeochemical cycles of carbon, iron, and sulfur. However, few studies have focused on the role of nitrogen-metabolizing bacteria in As mobilization, as well as in the transformation between inorganic and organic As in groundwater. In this study, the nitrogen and As metabolisms of Citrobacter sp. G-C1 and Paraclostridium sp. G-11, isolated from high As groundwater in Hetao Plain, China, were characterized by culture experiments and genome sequencing. The results showed Citrobacter sp. G-C1 was a dissimilatory nitrate-reducing bacterium. The dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonia (DNRA) and As-detoxifying pathways identified in the genome enabled Citrobacter sp. G-C1 to simultaneously reduce As(V) during DNRA. Paraclostridium sp. G-11 was a nitrogen-fixing bacterium and its nitrogen-fixing activity was constrained by As. Nitrogen fixation and the As-detoxifying pathways identified in its genome conferred the capability of As(V) reduction during nitrogen fixation. Under anaerobic conditions, Citrobacter sp. G-C1 was able to demethylate organic As and Paraclostridium sp. G-11 performed As(III) methylation with the arsM gene. Collectively, these results not only evidenced that ammonium-generating bacteria with the ars operon were able to transform As(V) to more mobile As(III) during nitrogen-metabolizing processes, but also involved the transformation between inorganic and organic As in groundwater.

Keywords: arsenic; DNRA; N-fixation; methylation; demethylation; groundwater (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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