Open AccessAn origin for arsenobetaine involving bacterial formation of an arsenic–carbon bond
Author(s) -
Ritchie Alisdair W.,
Edmonds John S.,
Goessler Walter,
Jenkins Richard O.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2004.tb09572.x
Subject(s) - arsenobetaine , bioconversion , methylation , chemistry , arsenic , biochemistry , pseudomonas , biology , bacteria , fermentation , organic chemistry , genetics , dna , arsenite
Lysed‐cell extract of a Pseudomonas sp. was shown to catalyse bioconversion of dimethylarsinoylacetate to arsenobetaine and dimethylarsinate. Provision of the universal methyl donor S‐adenosylmethionine to bioconversion mixtures promoted both the rate and extent of arsenobetaine formation. These findings suggest that in the proposed biosynthesis of arsenobetaine from dimethylarsinoylethanol, oxidation (i.e. the formation of the carboxymethyl group of dimethylarsinoylacetate) would precede the reduction and methylation at the arsenic atom. The presence of enzyme(s) capable of methylating dimethylarsinoylacetate in a bacterial isolate from marine mussel ( Mylitus edulis ), highlights a possible direct involvement of prokaryotic organisms in the biosynthesis of organoarsenic compounds within marine animals.