A new family of periplasmic-binding proteins that sense arsenic oxyanions

Arsenic contamination of drinking water affects more than 140 million people worldwide. While toxic to humans, inorganic forms of arsenic (arsenite and arsenate), can be used as energy sources for microbial respiration. AioX and its orthologues (ArxX and ArrX) represent the first members of a new sub-family of periplasmic-binding proteins that serve as the first component of a signal transduction system, that's role is to positively regulate expression of arsenic metabolism enzymes. As determined by X-ray crystallography for AioX, arsenite binding only requires subtle conformational changes in protein structure, providing insights into protein-ligand interactions. The binding pocket of all orthologues is conserved but this alone is not sufficient for oxyanion selectivity, with proteins selectively binding either arsenite or arsenate. Phylogenetic evidence, clearly demonstrates that the regulatory proteins evolved together early in prokaryotic evolution and had a separate origin from the metabolic enzymes whose expression they regulate

Desulfuribacillus alkaliarsenatis gen. nov. sp. nov., a deep-lineage, obligately anaerobic, dissimilatory sulfur and arsenate-reducing, haloalkaliphilic representative of the order Bacillales from soda lakes

An anaerobic enrichment culture inoculated with a sample of sediments from soda lakes of the Kulunda Steppe with elemental sulfur as electron acceptor and formate as electron donor at pH 10 and moderate salinity inoculated with sediments from soda lakes in Kulunda Steppe (Altai, Russia) resulted in the domination of a Gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium strain AHT28. The isolate is an obligate anaerobe capable of respiratory growth using elemental sulfur, thiosulfate (incomplete reduction) and arsenate as electron acceptor with H2, formate, pyruvate and lactate as electron donor. Growth was possible within a pH range from 9 to 10.5 (optimum at pH 10) and a salt concentration at pH 10 from 0.2 to 2 M total Na+ (optimum at 0.6 M). According to the phylogenetic analysis, strain AHT28 represents a deep independent lineage within the order Bacillales with a maximum of 90 % 16S rRNA gene similarity to its closest cultured representatives. On the basis of its distinct phenotype and phylogeny, the novel haloalkaliphilic anaerobe is suggested as a new genus and species, Desulfuribacillus alkaliarsenatis (type strain AHT28T = DSM24608T = UNIQEM U855T)

Simultaneous microbial reduction of iron(III) and arsenic(V) in suspensions of hydrous ferric oxide

Bacterial reduction of arsenic(V) and iron(III) oxides influences the redox cycling and partitioning of arsenic (As) between solid and aqueous phases in sediment-porewater systems. Two types of anaerobic bacterial incubations were designed to probe the relative order of As(V) and Fe(III) oxide reduction and to measure the effect of adsorbed As species on the rate of iron reduction, using hydrous ferric oxide (HFO) as the iron substrate. In one set of experiments, HFO was pre-equilibrated with As(V) and inoculated with fresh sediment from Haiwee Reservoir (Olancha, CA), an As-impacted field site. The second set of incubations consisted of HFO (without As) and As(III)- and As(V)- equilibrated HFO incubated with Shewanella sp. ANA-3 wild-type (WT) and ANA-3ΔarrA a mutant unable to produce the respiratory As(V) reductase. Of the two pathways for microbial As(V) reduction (respiration and detoxification), the respiratory pathway was dominant under these experimental conditions. In addition, As(III) adsorbed onto the surface of HFO enhanced the rate of microbial Fe(III) reduction. In the sediment and ANA-3 incubations, As(V) was reduced simultaneously or prior to Fe(III), consistent with thermodynamic calculations based on the chemical conditions of the ANA-3 WT incubations. © 2006 American Chemical Society

arrA Is a Reliable Marker for As(V) Respiration

Arsenate [As(V)]-respiring bacteria affect the speciation and mobilization of arsenic in the environment. This can lead to arsenic contamination of drinking water supplies and deleterious consequences for human health. Using molecular genetics, we show that the functional gene for As(V) respiration, arrA, is highly conserved; that it is required for As(V) reduction to arsenite when arsenic is sorbed onto iron minerals; and that it can be used to identify the presence and activity of As(V)-respiring bacteria in arsenic-contaminated iron-rich sediments. The expression of arrA thus can be used to monitor sites in which As(V)-respiring bacteria may be controlling arsenic geochemistry

Education Partnerships in Teacher Training: McDonald Observatory and the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization

McDonald Observatory in remote, west Texas has a long history of providing K-12 teacher professional development (PD) through workshops at the observatory. Recently, we have started a new teacher PD program in partnership with the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization (GMTO) to provide teacher training and establish a network of teachers and students engaged in the Giant Magellan Telescope. The GMT Teacher workshop has been offered to 30 teachers during the summers of 2014 and 2015; continued engagement has been offered to the teachers through online resources, networking, participation in other teacher PD opportunities and conferences. Evaluation has been conducted using several metrics immediately post workshops, and long term followup evaluation methods. At the close of the 2014 workshop teachers reported learning about the telescopes and nighttime observing, and the promise of the GMT. Consensus statements at the close of the workshop also spoke about passion for and appreciation of astronomy. The major source of recommendation during the year one workshop was to provide more detailed information or activities on the GMT during the workshops. While this does prove challenging to incorporate a full slate of activities on the GMT before the telescope is even built, we are currently working to produce more take-home materials which are GMT specific, continue to make general connections to telescope technology and science that are applicable to the GMT with the teachers. McDonald Observatory and GMTO will continue to partner to offer teacher PD related to the GMT, and increase the network of teachers and students engaged in the GMT, up and through the beginning of its operations in 2020. We will present the current highlights, evaulation outcome results, and future outlook for this program and collaboration