ArticleMolecular microbiology2019
The antibiotic action of methylarsenite is an emergent property of microbial communities.
Article in Molecular microbiology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers.
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Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 79 citations in OpenAlex.
- Synergistic function of ars genes in arsenic detoxification and biosynthesis of organoarsenicals.Biometals : an international journal on the role of metal ions in biology, biochemistry, and medicine · 2026Review
- A new type of ArsR transcriptional repressor controls transcription of the arsenic resistance operon ofmLife · 2025Article
- Metabolic reprogramming in PGPR reveals cross-feeding-driven physiological shifts and metabolic adaptations.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Biosensor-aided isolation of anaerobic arsenic-methylating bacteria from soil.ISME communications · 2025Article
- Growth substrate limitation enhances anaerobic arsenic methylation byApplied and environmental microbiology · 2024Article
- Two-tiered mutualism improves survival and competitiveness of cross-feeding soil bacteria.The ISME journal · 2023Article
- Methylotrophic methanogens and bacteria synergistically demethylate dimethylarsenate in paddy soil and alleviate rice straighthead disease.The ISME journal · 2023Article
- Discovery of a novel bacterial class with the capacity to drive sulfur cycling and microbiome structure in a paleo-ocean analog.ISME communications · 2023Article
- The ArsQ permease and transport of the antibiotic arsinothricin.Molecular microbiology · 2023Article
- Arsenic in medicine: past, present and future.Biometals : an international journal on the role of metal ions in biology, biochemistry, and medicine · 2023Review
- Unexpected genetic and microbial diversity for arsenic cycling in deep sea cold seep sediments.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2023Review
- ArsZ from Ensifer adhaerens ST2 is a novel methylarsenite oxidase.Environmental microbiology · 2022Article
- Ecological modelling approaches for predicting emergent properties in microbial communities.Nature ecology & evolution · 2022Review
- Glutathione Is Involved in the Reduction of Methylarsenate to Generate Antibiotic Methylarsenite in Enterobacter sp. Strain CZ-1.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2022Article
- Organoarsenical tolerance in Sphingobacterium wenxiniae, a bacterium isolated from activated sludge.Environmental microbiology · 2022Article
- Oxidation of organoarsenicals and antimonite by a novel flavin monooxygenase widely present in soil bacteria.Environmental microbiology · 2022Article
- ArsV and ArsW provide synergistic resistance to the antibiotic methylarsenite.Environmental microbiology · 2021Article
- Identification of a MarR Subfamily That Regulates Arsenic Resistance Genes.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2021Article
- Antimicrobial Activity of Metals and Metalloids.Annual review of microbiology · 2021Review
- Identification of the Biosynthetic Gene Cluster for the Organoarsenical Antibiotic Arsinothricin.Microbiology spectrum · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Arsenic is the most ubiquitous environmental toxin. Here, we demonstrate that bacteria have evolved the ability to use arsenic to gain a competitive advantage over other bacteria at least twice. Microbes generate toxic methylarsenite (MAs(III)) by methylation of arsenite (As(III)) or reduction of methylarsenate (MAs(V)). MAs(III) is oxidized aerobically to MAs(V), making methylation a detoxification process. MAs(V) is continually re-reduced to MAs(III) by other community members, giving them a competitive advantage over sensitive bacteria. Because generation of a sustained pool of MAs(III) requires microbial communities, these complex interactions are an emergent property. We show that reduction of MAs(V) by Burkholderia sp. MR1 produces toxic MAs(III) that inhibits growth of Escherichia coli in mixed culture. There are three microbial mechanisms for resistance to MAs(III). ArsH oxidizes MAs(III) to MAs(V). ArsI degrades MAs(III) to As(III). ArsP confers resistance by efflux. Cells of E. coli expressing arsI, arsH or arsP grow in mixed culture with Burkholderia sp. MR1 in the presence of MAs(V). Thus MAs(III) has antibiotic properties: a toxic organic compound produced by one microbe to kill off competitors. Our results demonstrate that life has adapted to use environmental arsenic as a weapon in the continuing battle for dominance.
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