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Microbial Interspecies Interactions Affect Arsenic Fate in the Presence of MnII

  • Microbiology of Aquatic Systems
  • Published:
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Abstract

Biotransformation of arsenic (As) plays an important role in its environmental fate. However, the impact of direct microbial interspecies interactions on valence state and migration of As is rarely reported and cognized. Here, by co-cultivating two aerobic AsV-reducing bacteria (Arthrobacter sp. QXT-31 and Sphingopyxis sp. QXT-31) in a culture medium containing initial AsV (10 μM) and bivalent manganese (MnII, 175 μM), we demonstrated how the interactions between strains affect valence state and partition of As. The results showed that both the strains first reduced AsV to AsIII via a detoxification mechanism during aerobic growth, with participation of AsV-reducing gene arsC; the expression of a MnII-oxidizing gene of Arthrobacter sp. QXT-31 was then triggered in the presence of Sphingopyxis sp. QXT-31, and emerging MnII-oxidizing activity oxidized 90% of MnII to Mn oxides; the formed Mn oxides oxidized AsIII to AsV and adsorbed AsV; MnII-oxidizing activity decreased significantly in the later stage, resulting to desorption of AsV from Mn oxides and subsequent bioreduction in aqueous phase. Considering the universality of the two bacterial genera and the interspecies interactions, our study hints at the pervasive impact of direct microbial interspecies interactions on the environmental fate of As in an aquatic ecosystem containing Mn.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the staff at BL15U from the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility for their help with data collection and analysis. This study was supported by a major program (51290282), general program (51578537), and international (regional) joint research project (51420105012) granted by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 18 Shuangqing Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100085, China

    Jinsong Liang, Yaohui Bai & Jiuhui Qu

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  1. Jinsong Liang
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  2. Yaohui Bai
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  3. Jiuhui Qu
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Correspondence to Yaohui Bai.

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Liang, J., Bai, Y. & Qu, J. Microbial Interspecies Interactions Affect Arsenic Fate in the Presence of MnII . Microb Ecol 74, 788–794 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-017-1008-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-017-1008-9

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