New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts

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The reduction of arsenate to arsenite by an yAnabaena-bacteria assemblage isolated from the Waikato River

M. C. FREEMAN*

Biological Sciences Department University of Waikato Private Bag, Hamilton New Zealand

Abstract An Anabaena oscillaroides-bacteria assemblage, isolated from the arsenic-rich Waikato River, was able to take up and reduce arsenate to arsenite. The assemblage growing in continuous culture with cyanophyte and bacterial densities of 4 X 10⁵ and 6 X 10⁵ cells ml' respectively, could reduce arsenate to arsenite at a rate of 12 ng As 10⁶ cells ' d~'. The assemblage bacteria were separated from the A. oscillaroides filaments and found to be capable of arsenate reduction to arsenite. These results provide a possible explanation for previously unexplained changes in arsenic speciation in the Waikato River, from the thermodynamically favoured arsenate to arsenite.

Keywords arsenic; arsenate; arsenite; Anabaena oscillaroides; bacteria; biogeochemistry; Waikato River

New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 1985, Vol. 19: 277-282 Received 10 July 1984; accepted 3 December 1984

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (468K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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