RETRACTED: A bacterium that can grow by using arsenic instead of phosphorus
- PMID: 21127214
- DOI: 10.1126/science.1197258
RETRACTED: A bacterium that can grow by using arsenic instead of phosphorus
Retraction in
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Retraction.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.
Comment in
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What job can a bug give? A controversy over the arsenic-guzzling bacterium cultured by NASA.Protein Cell. 2011 Apr;2(4):261-3. doi: 10.1007/s13238-011-1044-z. Protein Cell. 2011. PMID: 21533770 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
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Comment on "A bacterium that can grow by using arsenic instead of phosphorus".Science. 2011 Jun 3;332(6034):1149; author reply 1149. doi: 10.1126/science.1201943. Epub 2011 May 27. Science. 2011. PMID: 21622705
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Comment on "A bacterium that can grow by using arsenic instead of phosphorus".Science. 2011 Jun 3;332(6034):1149; author reply 1149. doi: 10.1126/science.1201482. Epub 2011 May 27. Science. 2011. PMID: 21622706
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Comment on "A bacterium that can grow by using arsenic instead of phosphorus".Science. 2011 Jun 3;332(6034):1149; author reply 1149. doi: 10.1126/science.1201438. Epub 2011 May 27. Science. 2011. PMID: 21622707
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Comment on "A bacterium that can grow by using arsenic instead of phosphorus".Science. 2011 Jun 3;332(6034):1149; author reply 1149. doi: 10.1126/science.1201399. Epub 2011 May 27. Science. 2011. PMID: 21622708
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Comment on "A bacterium that can grow by using arsenic instead of phosphorus".Science. 2011 Jun 3;332(6034):1149; author reply 1149. doi: 10.1126/science.1201381. Epub 2011 May 27. Science. 2011. PMID: 21622709
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Comment on "A bacterium that can grow by using arsenic instead of phosphorus".Science. 2011 Jun 3;332(6034):1149; author reply 1149. doi: 10.1126/science.1201255. Epub 2011 May 27. Science. 2011. PMID: 21622711
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Comment on "A bacterium that can grow by using arsenic instead of phosphorus".Science. 2011 Jun 3;332(6034):1149; author reply 1149. doi: 10.1126/science.1201304. Epub 2011 May 27. Science. 2011. PMID: 21622712
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Comment on "A bacterium that can grow by using arsenic instead of phosphorus".Science. 2011 Jun 3;332(6034):1149; author reply 1149. doi: 10.1126/science.1201551. Epub 2011 May 27. Science. 2011. PMID: 21622713
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Microbiology. Concerns about arsenic-laden bacterium aired.Science. 2011 Jun 3;332(6034):1136-7. doi: 10.1126/science.332.6034.1136. Science. 2011. PMID: 21636751 No abstract available.
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Editor's note.Science. 2011 Jun 3;332(6034):1149. doi: 10.1126/science.1208877. Science. 2011. PMID: 21636758 No abstract available.
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