Arsenic-Eating Bacteria Create Worlds Of Possibility

By Kevin Westerling

Recently, NASA officials announced the discovery of arsenic-eating bacteria that challenges the understanding of life as we know it. The organisms are unique in that they subsist without phosphorus, thought to be a universal building block of all living things, substituting arsenic in its place. Recovered from the arsenic-rich confines of Mono Lake in California, the bacterium actually thrives on the poisonous element, incorporating arsenic into its DNA. The landmark finding has excited the scientific community by opening the door for many possibilities, both terrestrial and beyond. But what does it all mean for Earth's fundamental element — water?

As reported by Discovery News, the revelation represents a potential breakthrough for wastewater treatment, according to Arizona State University's James Elser. "Phosphorus is a big issue for sustainability and the quality of aquatic ecosystems. When it leaks out of systems, out of agricultural systems, it functions as a pollutant," Elser is quoted. "It's really exciting to think about the possibilities that are raised by a clever organism that evolved a way to do without phosphorus, possibly... and how it might be used in wastewater treatment, recovering phosphorus from various sources."