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James T. Hollibaugh

Publications and source records attributed to James T. Hollibaugh.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2017

Autotrophic microbial arsenotrophy in arsenic-rich soda lakes

A number of prokaryotes are capable of employing arsenic oxy-anions as either electron acceptors [arsenate; As(V)] or electron donors [arsenite; As(III)] to sustain arsenic-dependent growth (‘arsenotrophy’). A subset of these microorganisms function as either chemoautotrophs or photoautotrophs, whereby they gain sufficient energy from their redox metabolism of arsenic to completely satisfy their carbon needs for growth by autotrophy, that is the fixation of inorganic carbon (e.g. HCO 3 − ) into their biomass. Here we review what has been learned of these processes by investigations we have undertaken in three soda lakes of the western USA and from the physiological characterizations of the relevant bacteria, which include the critical genes involved, such as respiratory arsenate reductase ( arrA ) and the discovery of its arsenite-oxidizing counterpart ( arxA ). When possible, we refer to instances of similar process occurring in other, less extreme ecosystems and by microbes other than haloalkaliphiles.

FEMS Microbiology Letters↗
USGS2004

The microbial arsenic cycle in Mono Lake, California

Significant concentrations of dissolved inorganic arsenic can be found in the waters of a number of lakes located in the western USA and in other water bodies around the world. These lakes are often situated in arid, volcanic terrain. The highest concentrations of arsenic occur in hypersaline, closed basin soda lakes and their remnant brines. Although arsenic is a well-known toxicant to eukaryotes and prokaryotes alike, some prokaryotes have evolved biochemical mechanisms to exploit arsenic oxyanions (i.e., arsenate and arsenite); they can use them either as an electron acceptor for anaerobic respiration (arsenate), or as an electron donor (arsenite) to support chemoautotrophic fixation of CO 2 into cell carbon. Unlike in freshwater or marine ecosystems, these processes may assume quantitative significance with respect to the carbon cycle in arsenic-rich soda lakes. For the past several years our research has focused on the occurrence and biogeochemical manifestations of these processes in Mono Lake, a particularly arsenic-rich environment. Herein we review some of our findings concerning the biogeochemical arsenic cycle in this lake, with the hope that it may broaden the understanding of the influence of microorganisms upon the speciation of arsenic in more common, less “extreme” environments, such as drinking water aquifers.

California↗
USGS2004

Dissimilatory arsenate reduction with sulfide as the electron donor--Experiments with Mono Lake water and isolation of strain MLMS-1, a chemoautotrophic arsenate-respirer

Anoxic bottom water from Mono Lake, California, can biologically reduce added arsenate without any addition of electron donors. Of the possible in situ inorganic electron donors present, only sulfide was sufficiently abundant to drive this reaction. We tested the ability of sulfide to serve as an electron donor for arsenate reduction in experiments with lake water. Reduction of arsenate to arsenite occurred simultaneously with the removal of sulfide. No loss of sulfide occurred in controls without arsenate or in sterilized samples containing both arsenate and sulfide. The rate of arsenate reduction in lake water was dependent on the amount of available arsenate. We enriched for a bacterium that could achieve growth with sulfide and arsenate in a defined, mineral medium and purified it by serial dilution. The isolate, strain MLMS-1, is a gram-negative, motile curved rod that grows by oxidizing sulfide to sulfate while reducing arsenate to arsenite. Chemoautotrophy was confirmed by the incorporation of H 14 CO 3 − into dark-incubated cells, but preliminary gene probing tests with primers for ribulose-1,5-biphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase did not yield PCR-amplified products. Alignment of 16S rRNA sequences indicated that strain MLMS-1 was in the δ- Proteobacteria , located near sulfate reducers like Desulfobulbus sp. (88 to 90% similarity) but more closely related (97%) to unidentified sequences amplified previously from Mono Lake. However, strain MLMS-1 does not grow with sulfate as its electron acceptor.

California↗
USGS2002

Measurement of in situ rates of selenate removal by dissimilatory bacterial reduction in sediments

A radioisotope method for measurement of bacteria respiratory reduction of selenate to elemental selenium in aquatic sediments was devised. Sediments were labeled with [75Se]selenate, incubated, and washed, and 75Se0(s) was determined as counts remaining in the sediments. Core profiles of selenate reduction, sulfate reduction, and denitrification were made simultaneously in the sediments of an agricultural wastewater evaporation pond. Most of the in situ selenate reduction (85%) and all the denitrificatation activities were confined to the upper 4-8 cm of the profile, whereas sulfate reduction was greatest below 8 cm (89% of total). The integrated areal rate of selenate reduction was 301 mol m-2 day-1, which results in a turnover of water column selenate in 82.4 days.

Environmental Science & Technology↗
USGS1989

Selenate reduction to elemental selenium by anaerobic bacteria in sediments and culture: Biogeochemical significance of a novel, sulfate-independent respiration

Interstitial water profiles of SeO 4 2− , SeO 3 2− , SO 4 2− , and Cl − in anoxic sediments indicated removal of the seleno-oxyanions by a near-surface process unrelated to sulfate reduction. In sediment slurry experiments, a complete reductive removal of SeO 4 2− occurred under anaerobic conditions, was more rapid with H 2 or acetate, and was inhibited by O 2 , NO 3 − , MnO 2 , or autoclaving but not by SO 4 2− or FeOOH. Oxidation of acetate in sediments could be coupled to selenate but not to molybdate. Reduction of selenate to elemental selenium was determined to be the mechanism for loss from solution. Selenate reduction was inhibited by tungstate and chromate but not by molybdate. A small quantity of the elemental selenium precipitated into sediments from solution could be resolublized by oxidation with either nitrate or FeOOH, but not with MnO 2 . A bacterium isolated from estuarine sediments demonstrated selenate-dependent growth on acetate, forming elemental selenium and carbon dioxide as respiratory end products. These results indicate that dissimilatory selenate reduction to elemental selenium is the major sink for selenium oxyanions in anoxic sediments. In addition, they suggest application as a treatment process for removing selenium oxyanions from wastewaters and also offer an explanation for the presence of selenite in oxic waters.

California↗