Abstract
Efflux is by far the most common means of arsenic detoxification. Another mechanism is methylation catalyzed by a family of As(III) S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) methyltransferases (MTs) enzymes designated ArsM in microbes or AS3MT in higher eukaryotes. The protein sequence of more than 5000 AS3MT/ArsM orthologues were deposited in the NCBI database, primarily in prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes. As(III) SAM MTs are members of a large superfamily of MTs involved in numerous physiological functions. ArsMs detoxify arsenic by conversion of inorganic trivalent arsenic (As(III)) into mono-, di- and trimethylated species that may be more toxic and carcinogenic than inorganic arsenic. The pathway of methylation remains controversial. Several hypotheses are examined in this review.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 570-576 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Geomicrobiology Journal |
Volume | 32 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 01-01-2015 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Microbiology
- Environmental Chemistry
- Environmental Science(all)
- Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)