RETRACTED: A bacterium that can grow by using arsenic instead of phosphorus.
Life is mostly composed of the elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and phosphorus. Although these six elements make up nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids and thus the bulk of living matter, it is theoretically possible that some other elements in the periodic table could serve the same functions. Here, we describe a bacterium, strain GFAJ-1 of the Halomonadaceae, isolated from Mono Lake, California, that is able to substitute arsenic for phosphorus to sustain its growth. Our data show evidence for arsenate in macromolecules that normally contain phosphate, most notably nucleic acids and proteins. Exchange of one of the major bio-elements may have profound evolutionary and geochemical importance.
NASA Astrobiology Institute, USA. felisawolfesimon@gmail.com
Felisa
F
Wolfe-Simon
Jodi
J
Switzer Blum
Thomas R
TR
Kulp
Gwyneth W
GW
Gordon
Shelley E
SE
Hoeft
Jennifer
J
Pett-Ridge
John F
JF
Stolz
Samuel M
SM
Webb
Peter K
PK
Weber
Paul C W
PC
Davies
Ariel D
AD
Anbar
Ronald S
RS
Oremland
D001149:Arsenates / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D002140:California; D003470:Culture Media; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000382:microbiology; D044129:Halomonadaceae / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010710:Phosphates / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D018629:Spectrometry, Mass, Secondary Ion; D014617:Vacuoles / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014871:Water Microbiology
D001149:Arsenates; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003470:Culture Media; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D010710:Phosphates; D010758:Phosphorus; D001151:Arsenic; C025657:arsenic acid