''Chrysiogenes arsenatis'' is a species of

bacterium Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among the ...

in the family

Chrysiogenaceae Chrysiogenaceae is a family of bacteria. Phylogeny See also * List of bacterial orders * List of bacteria genera This article lists the genera of the bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms o ...

. It has a unique

biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

. Instead of respiring with oxygen, it respires using the most oxidized form of arsenic,

arsenate The arsenate is an ion with the chemical formula . Bonding in arsenate consists of a central arsenic atom, with oxidation state +5, double bonded to one oxygen atom and single bonded to a further three oxygen atoms. The four oxygen atoms orien ...

. It uses arsenate as its

terminal electron acceptor An electron acceptor is a chemical entity that accepts electrons transferred to it from another compound. Electron acceptors are oxidizing agents. The electron accepting power of an electron acceptor is measured by its redox potential. In the si ...

. Arsenic is usually toxic to life. Bacteria like ''Chrysiogenes arsenatis'' are found in anoxic arsenic-contaminated environments.

References

External links

Type strain of ''Chrysiogenes arsenatis'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
Chrysiogenota Bacteria described in 1996 {{Bacteria-stub