Role of human gut bacteria in arsenic biosorption and biotransformation

[Display omitted] •The As biosorption by bacteria was due to hydroxyl, amino, and carboxyl groups.•Escherichia coli had the strongest tolerance to As and the highest reducing ability.•Seven strains had As(V)-reducing ability, which was mainly regulated by arsC gene. There is growing evidence that human gut microbiota can metabolize arsenic (As); however, which bacteria play roles in this metabolism is unclear. In this study, we measured the abilities of 21 human gut bacteria strains from diverse clades to adsorb and transform As using in vitro method with the aim of determining which bacteria play a role in As metabolism. Seven strains showed high biosorption of As, ranging from 20.1 to 29.8%, which was attributed to functional groups on the bacterial surfaces, such as hydroxyl, amino, and carboxyl groups. Moreover, six of these seven strains were versatile, as they also had roles in reducing As(V) to As(III), which is mainly regulated by the arsC gene. Escherichia coli had the strongest tolerance to As and the highest reducing ability, with a value of 71.04–73.13 µM As/h. This study reveals that gut bacteria play essential roles in As biosorption and biotransformation, and provides a better understanding of which strains are involved, which has implications for the regulation of As toxicity-based gut bacteria and provides basic data for regulating arsenic to human health.