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Highly Selective and Rapid Arsenic Removal by Metabolically Engineered Escherichia coli Cells Expressing Fucus vesiculosus Metallothionein

Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering,¹ Cell Molecular and Developmental Biology Program, University of California, Riverside, California 92521²

Received 19 December 2007/ Accepted 26 February 2008

An arsenic-chelating metallothionein (fMT) from the arsenic-tolerant marine alga Fucus vesiculosus was expressed in Escherichia coli, resulting in 30- and 26-fold-higher As(III) and As(V) binding, respectively. Coexpression of the As(III)-specific transporter GlpF with fMT further improved arsenic accumulation and offered high selectivity toward As. Resting E. coli cells coexpressing fMT and GlpF completely removed trace amounts (35 ppb) of As(III) within 20 min, providing a promising technology for compliance with the As limit of 10 ppb newly recommended by the U.S. EPA.

Published ahead of print on 7 March 2008.