Effects of La3+ on growth, transformation, and gene expression of Escherichia coli

Rare earth elements have been emitted into the environment largely as fertilizer components. This has caused much fear about whether they would influence our environment, especially on the metabolism and genetics of microorganisms. In this article, the trivalent ion of a rare earth element, lanthanu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biological trace element research 2003-08, Vol.94 (2), p.167-178
Main Authors: Wenhua, Li, Ruming, Zhao, Zhixiong, Xie, Xiangdong, Chen, Ping, Shen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cell Division - drug effects
E coli
Earth
Escherichia coli - drug effects
Escherichia coli - genetics
Escherichia coli - growth & development
Escherichia coli - ultrastructure
Gene expression
Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial - drug effects
Genetics
Lac Operon - genetics
Lanthanum
Lanthanum - pharmacology
Microorganisms
Microscopy, Electron
Rare earth elements
Risk assessment
Thermogenesis - drug effects
Trace elements
Transformation, Bacterial - drug effects
Transformation, Bacterial - genetics
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Summary:Rare earth elements have been emitted into the environment largely as fertilizer components. This has caused much fear about whether they would influence our environment, especially on the metabolism and genetics of microorganisms. In this article, the trivalent ion of a rare earth element, lanthanum, was studied for the effects on growth, transformation, and gene expression of Escherichia coli. The results showed that La3+ at concentrations from 50 to 150 microg/mL stimulated the endogenic metabolism and ectogenic metabolism, but had few effects on gene expression. La3+ at lower concentrations from 0.5 to 30 microg/mL inhibit intensively E. coli-absorbing external DNA, decreasing the transformation efficiency. It is also supported by observations using transmission electron microscopy. Our results are significant in understanding the function of rare earth elements to microorganisms and assessing the risk of application of rare earth compounds.
ISSN:0163-4984
0163-4984
1559-0720
DOI:10.1385/bter:94:2:167