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. 2011 Jun 3;332(6034):1163-6.
doi: 10.1126/science.1197258. Epub 2010 Dec 2.

RETRACTED: A bacterium that can grow by using arsenic instead of phosphorus

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RETRACTED: A bacterium that can grow by using arsenic instead of phosphorus

Felisa Wolfe-Simon et al. Science. .

Retraction in

  • Retraction.
    Thorp HH. Thorp HH. Science. 2025 Jul 24;389(6758):357. doi: 10.1126/science.adu5488. Epub 2025 Jul 24. Science. 2025. PMID: 40705905 No abstract available.

Abstract

Life is mostly composed of the elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and phosphorus. Although these six elements make up nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids and thus the bulk of living matter, it is theoretically possible that some other elements in the periodic table could serve the same functions. Here, we describe a bacterium, strain GFAJ-1 of the Halomonadaceae, isolated from Mono Lake, California, that is able to substitute arsenic for phosphorus to sustain its growth. Our data show evidence for arsenate in macromolecules that normally contain phosphate, most notably nucleic acids and proteins. Exchange of one of the major bio-elements may have profound evolutionary and geochemical importance.

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