Mechanisms of Arsenic Interaction in Bacillus subtilis and Related Species with Biotechnological Potential

Arsenic (As) toxicity drives the evolution of resistance mechanisms in environmental microorganisms. Bacteria of the Bacillus genus are frequently identified in isolates from arsenic-contaminated sites, highlighting the importance of understanding the molecular mechanisms related to this bacterial genus. Bacillus subtilis, a soil microorganism and Gram-positive model paradigm, employs multiple strategies to counteract As toxicity, including biosorption, redox transformation, active efflux, and inducible genetic regulation. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the physiological and molecular mechanisms involved in arsenic response in B. subtilis and related species, focusing on the ars and ase operons. The ars operon, located within the mobile SKIN element, encodes a reductase (ArsC), an Acr3-type efflux pump (ArsB), a carbon-arsenic lyase (ArsI/YqcK), and a transcriptional repressor (ArsR), all co-regulated in response to arsenic. In turn, the ase operon contributes to resistance via an ArsB-type efflux system (AseA) and its own regulatory protein (AseR) but lacks an arsenate reductase. Additionally, genes such as aioAB, arrAB, and arsD are discussed, along with evidence for extracellular detoxification and cell surface immobilization of As. Studies on environmental Bacillus species are examined, pointing out the evolutionary implications of As resistance and the biotechnological potential for remediation of contaminated sites.