Jun Zhang

Abstract Microbial arsenic (As) methylation and demethylation are important components of the As biogeochemical cycle. Arsenic methylation is enhanced under flooded conditions in paddy soils, producing mainly phytotoxic dimethylarsenate (DMAs) that can cause rice straighthead disease, a physiological disorder occurring widely in some rice growing regions. The key microbial groups responsible for As methylation and demethylation in paddy soils are unknown. Three paddy soils were incubated under flooded conditions. DMAs initially accumulated in the soil porewater, followed by a rapid disappearance coinciding with the production of methane. The soil from a rice straighthead disease paddy field produced a much larger amount of DMAs than the other two soils. Using metabolic inhibition, quantification of functional gene transcripts, microbial enrichment cultures and 13C-labeled DMAs, we show that sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and methanogenic archaea are involved in As methylation and demethylation, respectively, controlling the dynamics of DMAs in paddy soils. We present a model of As biogeochemical cycle in paddy soils, linking the dynamics of changing soil redox potential with arsenite mobilization, arsenite methylation and subsequent demethylation driven by different microbial groups. The model provides a basis for controlling DMAs accumulation and incidence of straighthead disease in rice.

Plant roots rely on inorganic orthophosphate (Pi) transporters to acquire soluble Pi from soil solutions that exists at micromolar levels in natural ecosystems. Here, we functionally characterized a rice (Oryza sativa) Pi transporter, Os Phosphate Transporter-1;3 (OsPHT1;3), that mediates Pi uptake, translocation, and remobilization. OsPHT1;3 was directly regulated by Os Phosphate Starvation Response-2 and, in response to Pi starvation, showed enhanced expression in young leaf blades and shoot basal regions and even more so in roots and old leaf blades. OsPHT1;3 was able to complement a yeast mutant strain defective in five Pi transporters and mediate Pi influx in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Overexpression of OsPHT1;3 led to increased Pi concentration both in roots and shoots. However, unlike that reported for other known OsPHT1 members that facilitate Pi uptake at relatively higher Pi levels, mutation of OsPHT1;3 impaired Pi uptake and root-to-shoot Pi translocation only when external Pi concentration was below 5 μm. Moreover, in basal nodes, the expression of OsPHT1;3 was restricted to the phloem of regular vascular bundles and enlarged vascular bundles. An isotope labeling experiment with 32P showed that ospht1;3 mutant lines were impaired in remobilization of Pi from source to sink leaves. Furthermore, overexpression and mutation of OsPHT1;3 led to reciprocal alteration in the expression of OsPHT1;2 and several other OsPHT1 genes. Yeast-two-hybrid, bimolecular fluorescence complementation, and coimmunoprecipitation assays all demonstrated a physical interaction between OsPHT1;3 and OsPHT1;2. Taken together, our results indicate that OsPHT1;3 acts as a crucial factor for Pi acquisition, root-to-shoot Pi translocation, and redistribution of phosphorus in plants growing in environments with extremely low Pi levels.

Microbe-mediated arsenic (As) redox reactions play an important role in the biogeochemical cycling of As. Reduction of arsenate [As(V)] generally leads to As mobilization in paddy soils and increased As availability to rice plants, whereas oxidation of arsenite [As(III)] results in As immobilization. A novel chemoautotrophic As(III)-oxidizing bacterium, designated strain SY, was isolated from an As-contaminated paddy soil. The isolate was able to derive energy from the oxidation of As(III) to As(V) under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions using O2 or NO3(-) as the respective electron acceptor. Inoculation of the washed SY cells into a flooded soil greatly enhanced As(III) oxidation to As(V) both in the solution and adsorbed phases of the soil. Strain SY is phylogenetically closely related to Paracoccus niistensis with a 16S rRNA gene similarity of 96.79%. The isolate contains both the denitrification and ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase gene clusters, underscoring its ability to denitrify and to fix CO2 while coupled to As(III) oxidation. Deletion of the aioA gene encoding the As(III) oxidase subunit A abolished the As(III) oxidation ability of strain SY and led to increased sensitivity to As(III), suggesting that As(III) oxidation is a detoxification mechanism in this bacterium under aerobic and heterotrophic growth conditions. Analysis of the aioA gene clone library revealed that the majority of the As(III)-oxidizing bacteria in the soil were closely related to the genera Paracoccus of α-Proteobacteria. Our results provide direct evidence for As(III) oxidation by Paracoccus species and suggest that these species may play an important role in As(III) oxidation in paddy soils under both aerobic and denitrifying conditions.