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A 2‐ O ‐Methylriboside Unknown Outside the RNA World Contains Arsenic
Author(s) -
Glabonjat Ronald A.,
Raber Georg,
Jensen Kenneth B.,
Guttenberger Nikolaus,
Zangger Klaus,
Francesconi Kevin A.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201706310
Subject(s) - arsenic , biogeochemical cycle , biosynthesis , chemistry , rna , metabolism , biology , biochemistry , environmental chemistry , gene , organic chemistry
Lipid‐soluble arsenic compounds, also called arsenolipids, are ubiquitous marine natural products of currently unknown origin and function. In our search for clues about the possible biological roles of these compounds, we investigated arsenic metabolism in the unicellular green alga Dunaliella tertiolecta, and discovered an arsenolipid fundamentally different from all those previously identified; namely, a phytyl 5‐dimethylarsinoyl‐2‐ O ‐methyl‐ribofuranoside. The discovery is of particular interest because 2‐ O ‐methylribosides have, until now, only been found in RNA. We briefly discuss the significance of the new lipid in biosynthesis and arsenic biogeochemical cycling.