Sponsor: National Nature Science Foundation of China (NNSFC)
Headed by Zhu Yongguan
Date: 2011.01-2013.12
It is well known that many rice and its paddy fields were significantly contaminated by arsenic. Arsenic could be transfomated by microorganisms (microalgae) in the paddy fields from arsenate to arsenite, and then methylated until volatile organic As. According to this function and biotransformation mechanism of As by microalgae in the paddy fields, this project would be conducted in following aspects:(1) isolation of algae from As contaminated paddy fields, its absorption, tolerance to arsenic and mechanism of arsenic biotransformation; (2) mechanism of arsenic bioaccumulation and biotransformation by modelled algae (full genome known);(3) clone of key genes related to arsenic biotransformation (arsenate reduction gene and arsenic methylation gene), overexpression of these genes in E. coli to investigate their functions.

This study would have considerable significance for biogeochemical cycling, distribution and biological toxicity of arsenic by algae in paddy soil. To our knowledge, the information of arsenic biovolatilization is still rare and this investigation is exciting and innovation.