Work

Highly Selective and Rapid Arsenic Removal by Metabolically Engineered Escherichia coli Cells Expressing Fucus vesiculosus Metallothionein

Year: 2008

Type: article

Abstract: An arsenic-chelating metallothionein (fMT) from the arsenic-tolerant marine alga Fucus vesiculosus was expressed in Escherichia coli, resulting in 30- and 26-fold-higher As(III) and As(V) binding, respectively. Coexpression of the As(III)-specific transporter GlpF with fMT further improved arsenic accumulation and offered high selectivity toward As. Resting E. coli cells coexpressing fMT and GlpF completely removed trace amounts (35 ppb) of As(III) within 20 min, providing a promising technology for compliance with the As limit of 10 ppb newly recommended by the U.S. EPA.

Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology

DOI: 10.1128/aem.02871-07

Authors: Shailendra Singh, Ashok Mulchandani, Wilfred Chen

Institution: University of California, Riverside

Language: English

Topic: Arsenic contamination and mitigation

Subfield: Environmental Chemistry

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Clean water and sanitation

Open Access status: green

Funders: Wayne State University, School of Medicine, Duke University