Selenate electron acceptor

The selenate reductase from Enterobacter cloacae SLDla-1 functions only under aerobic conditions, and is not able to serve as an electron acceptor for anaerobic growth, in contrast to the periplasmic enzyme from Thauera selenatis (Schroder et al. 1997). In E. cloacae there are separate nitrate and selenate reductases, both of which are membrane-bound. The selenate reductase is able to reduce chlorate and bromate though not nitrate, contains Mo, heme and nonheme iron, and consists of three subunits in an a3p3y3 configuration. 

Arsenite is also an intermediate in the fungal biomethylation of arsenic (Bentley and Chasteen 2002) and oxidation to the less toxic arsenate can be accomplished by heterotrophic bacteria including Alcaligenes faecalis. Exceptionally, arsenite can serve as electron donor for chemolithotrophic growth of an organism designated NT-26 (Santini et al. 2000), and both selenate and arsenate can be involved in dissimilation reactions as alternative electron acceptors. 

The chlorate reductase has been characterized in strain GR-1 where it was found in the periplasm, is oxygen-sensitive, and contains molybdenum, and both [3Fe-4S] and [4Fe-4S] clusters (Kengen et al. 1999). The arsenate reductase from Chrysiogenes arsenatis contains Mo, Fe, and acid-labile S (Krafft and Macy 1998), and the reductase from Thauera selenatis that is specific for selenate, is located in the periplasmic space, and contains Mo, Fe, acid-labile S, and cytochrome b (Schroeder et al. 1997). In contrast, the membrane-bound selenate reductase from Enterobacter cloacae SLDla-1 that cannot function as an electron acceptor under anaerobic conditions contains Mo and Fe and is distinct from nitrate reductase (Ridley et al. 2006). 

In the absence of molecular oxygen, a nnmber of alternative electron acceptors may be used these include nitrate, sulfate, selenate, carbonate, chlorate, Fe(III), Cr(VI), and U(VI), and have already been discussed in Chapter 3, Part 2. In Chapter 14, which deals with applications, attention is directed primarily to the role of nitrate, sulfate, and Fe(III)— with only parenthetical remarks on Cr(VI) and U(VI). The role of nitrate and sulfate as electron acceptors for the degradation of monocyclic aromatic compounds is discnssed, and the particularly broad metabolic versatility of sulfate-reducing bacteria is worthy of notice. 

Obviously the redox poise in biological systems is very important and the movement of selenium through this process has been investigated for denitrifiers such as Paracoccus denitrificans,159 a specialized selenate-respiring bacterium Thauera selenatis which used selenate as the sole electron acceptor,160,161 and phototrophic bacteria which produced different reduced forms of selenium when amended with either selenite or selenate and even added insoluble elemental Se.162 As noted above, Andreesen has commented on the importance of redox active selenocysteines135 and Jacob et al.136 note the importance of the thioredoxin system to redox poise. 

Redox reactions in soils are affected by a number of parameters, including temperature, pH (see Chapter 7), and microbes. Microbes catalyze many redox reactions in soils and use a variety of compounds as electron acceptors or electron donors. For example, aerobic heterotrophic soil bacteria may metabolize readily available organic carbon using NO3, NOj, N20, Mn-oxides, Fe-oxides and compounds such as arsenate (As04 ) and selenate (Se04 ) as electron acceptors. Similarly, microbes may use reduced compounds or ions as electron donors, for example, NH4, Mn2+, Fe2+, arsenite (AsCXj), and selenite (SeO ). 

Selenate may also be used as electron acceptor for anaerobic respiration by certain bacteria (Rathgeber etal. 2002), which are mostly also able to reduce tellurite (Di Tomaso etal. 2002). Tellurium has a very low bioavailability. Tellurite resistance has long been known (Summer and Jacoby 1977, Taylor et al. 1987, Kormutakova et al. 

The MBfR is another process variation and typically referred to a membrane biofilm reactor where hydrogen is the electron acceptor. A large number of bacteria can use hydrogen as an electron acceptor, and the delivery of hydrogen via a membrane offers an efficient and safe solution. A number of studies have been undertaken for the hydrogenotrophic reduction of pollutants such as perchlorate, chlorate, chlorite, bromate, chromate, selenate, selenite, arsenate, and dichlo-romethane. A recent review of the technology is provided by Martin and Nerenberg [67]. 

In the redox reaction (Equations 1 and 2), selenate can be the election acceptor while Fe° acts as an electron donor. The selenate removal mechanism will be... 

Several reports were published on the PT/metal hybrids or PT/inorganic nanocomposites. Novel bithiophene with a pendant fullerene substituent was synthesized by electrochemical polymerization [350]. It was revealed that a photoinduced electron was transferred from the donor cable (PT) to the pendant acceptor cable (fullerene moieties). On the other side, it was demonstrated that a highly conducting cobalt selen-PT hybrid material catalyzed... 

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