博文
有关Microbe Finds Arsenic Tasty; Redefines Life，SCIENCE连续
|||
Research Article
A Bacterium That Can Grow by Using Arsenic Instead of Phosphorus
Felisa Wolfe-Simon1,2,*, Jodi Switzer Blum2, Thomas R. Kulp2, Gwyneth W. Gordon3, Shelley E. Hoeft2, Jennifer Pett-Ridge4, John F. Stolz5, Samuel M. Webb6, Peter K. Weber4, Paul C. W. Davies1,7, Ariel D. Anbar1,3,8 and Ronald S. Oremland2
2 December 2010 Science 1197258 DOI:10.1126/science.1197258
Abstract
Life is mostly composed of the elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and phosphorus. Although these six elements make up nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids and thus the bulk of living matter, it is theoretically possible that some other elements in the periodic table could serve the same functions. Here, we describe a bacterium, strain GFAJ-1 of the Halomonadaceae, isolated from Mono Lake, California, which substitutes arsenic for phosphorus to sustain its growth. Our data show evidence for arsenate in macromolecules that normally contain phosphate, most notably nucleic acids and proteins. Exchange of one of the major bioelements may have profound evolutionary and geochemical significance.
What Poison? Bacterium Uses Arsenic to Build DNA and Other Molecules
Science 3 December 2010: Vol. 330 no. 6009 p. 1302 DOI: 10.1126/science.330.6009.1302
Summary
In a paper published online by Science this week, researchers describe GFAJ-1, a bacterial strain that they say can replace the phosphorus in its key biomolecules, including DNA, with the legendary poison arsenic. The researchers speculate that organisms like GFAJ-1 could have thrived in the arsenic-laden hydrothermal vent–like environments of early Earth, where some researchers think life first arose, and that later organisms may have adapted to using phosphorus. Others say they'll refrain from such speculation until they see more evidence of GFAJ-1's taste for arsenic and understand how the DNA and other biomolecules can still function with the element incorporated.
https://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-493095-390803.html
上一篇：开博首篇
