title: Microbial Antimony Biogeochemistry: Enzymes, Regulation, and Related Metabolic Pathways.
abstract: Antimony (Sb) is a toxic metalloid that occurs widely at trace concentrations in soil, aquatic systems, and the atmosphere. Nowadays, with the development of its new industrial applications and the corresponding expansion of antimony mining activities, the phenomenon of antimony pollution has become an increasingly serious concern. In recent years, research interest in Sb has been growing and reflects a fundamental scientific concern regarding Sb in the environment. In this review, we summarize the recent research on bacterial antimony transformations, especially those regarding antimony uptake, efflux, antimonite oxidation, and antimonate reduction. We conclude that our current understanding of antimony biochemistry and biogeochemistry is roughly equivalent to where that of arsenic was some 20 years ago. This portends the possibility of future discoveries with regard to the ability of microorganisms to conserve energy for their growth from antimony redox reactions and the isolation of new species of "antimonotrophs."
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Jingxin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California, USA.
authors.forename: Ronald S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Oremland
authors.affiliation: Binghamton University, State University of New York, Binghamton, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Kulp
authors.affiliation: Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, China J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla, California, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rensing
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China gejiao@mail.hzau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Gejiao
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000965:Antimony / Q000378:metabolism*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D001711:Biotransformation; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D000965:Antimony