Journal
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
Volume 82, Issue 16, Pages 4848-4859Publisher
AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY
DOI: 10.1128/AEM.00877-16
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- Biomolecular Sciences Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Selenium species, particularly the oxyanions selenite (SeO32-) and selenate (SeO42-), are significant pollutants in the environment that leach from rocks and are released by anthropogenic activities. Selenium is also an essential micronutrient for organisms across the tree of life, including microorganisms and human beings, particularly because of its presence in the 21st genetically encoded amino acid, selenocysteine. Environmental microorganisms are known to be capable of a range of transformations of selenium species, including reduction, methylation, oxidation, and demethylation. Assimilatory reduction of selenium species is necessary for the synthesis of selenoproteins. Dissimilatory reduction of selenate is known to support the anaerobic respiration of a number of microorganisms, and the dissimilatory reduction of soluble selenate and selenite to nanoparticulate elemental selenium greatly reduces the toxicity and bioavailability of selenium and has a major role in bioremediation and potentially in the production of selenium nanospheres for technological applications. Also, microbial methylation after reduction of Se oxyanions is another potentially effective detoxification process if limitations with low reaction rates and capture of the volatile methylated selenium species can be overcome. This review discusses microbial transformations of different forms of Se in an environmental context, with special emphasis on bioremediation of Se pollution.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available