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Una bacteria que puede crecer usando arsénico en lugar de fósforo
Felisa Wolfe-Simon1, Jodi Switzer Blum, Thomas R Kulp
1NASA Astrobiology Institute, USA. felisawolfesimon@gmail.com
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|December 4, 2010
Resumen
Ciertas bacterias pueden sustituir el arsénico por el fósforo, un elemento crucial para la vida. Este descubrimiento en una bacteria de Mono Lake sugiere que pueden existir bioquímicas alternativas, lo que afecta nuestra comprensión de la evolución de la vida.
Área de la Ciencia:
- Astrobiología Astrobiología.
- La bioquímica es la bioquímica.
- La geoquímica es la geoquímica.
Sus antecedentes:
- La vida utiliza predominantemente seis elementos: carbono, hidrógeno, nitrógeno, oxígeno, azufre y fósforo (CHNOPS).
- Estos elementos forman macromoléculas esenciales como los ácidos nucleicos, proteínas y lípidos.
- La posibilidad de elementos alternativos que cumplan funciones biológicas similares sigue siendo un área de investigación científica.
Objetivo del estudio:
- Investigar si algún organismo puede sustituir los principales bioelementos por otros de la tabla periódica.
- Identificar y caracterizar las bacterias capaces de utilizar elementos alternativos para el crecimiento.
- Para determinar si el arsénico puede reemplazar el fósforo en las biomoléculas esenciales.
Principales métodos:
- Aislamiento y cultivo de bacterias de Mono Lake, California.
- Experimentos de crecimiento utilizando medios con diferentes concentraciones de fosfato y arseniato.
- Análisis de macromoléculas celulares utilizando técnicas como la espectrometría de masas para detectar la composición elemental.
Principales resultados:
- Una bacteria, la cepa GFAJ-1 (Halomonadaceae), fue aislada del lago Mono.
- La cepa GFAJ-1 demostró un crecimiento en presencia de arseniato y fosfato limitado.
- La evidencia indicó que el arsenato se incorporó a los ácidos nucleicos y las proteínas, reemplazando al fosfato.
Conclusiones:
- La bacteria GFAJ-1 puede sustituir el arsénico por el fósforo en las biomoléculas clave.
- Este hallazgo demuestra el potencial de bioquímicas alternativas en la vida.
- La capacidad de sustituir los principales bioelementos tiene implicaciones significativas para los estudios evolutivos y geoquímicos.
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