title: Earth Abides Arsenic Biotransformations.
abstract: Arsenic is the most prevalent environmental toxic element and causes health problems throughout the world. The toxicity, mobility, and fate of arsenic in the environment are largely determined by its speciation, and arsenic speciation changes are driven, at least to some extent, by biological processes. In this article, biotransformation of arsenic is reviewed from the perspective of the formation of Earth and the evolution of life, and the connection between arsenic geochemistry and biology is described. The article provides a comprehensive overview of molecular mechanisms of arsenic redox and methylation cycles as well as other arsenic biotransformations. It also discusses the implications of arsenic biotransformation in environmental remediation and food safety, with particular emphasis on groundwater arsenic contamination and arsenic accumulation in rice.
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, People's Republic of China; Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yong-Guan
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular Biology and Pharmacology, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, Florida 33199.
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshinaga
authors.affiliation: College of Resources & Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, People's Republic of China; Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Fang-Jie
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular Biology and Pharmacology, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, Florida 33199.
authors.forename: Barry P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Rosen
keywords: MSMA; arsenic; degradation; methylation; oxidation; reduction; rice; roxarsone