Biosynthesis of phytochelatins and arsenic accumulation in the marine microalga Phaeodactylum tricornutum in response to arsenate exposure

The arsenate-induced synthesis of phytochelatins (PC), intracellular cysteine-rich metal-binding peptides, and its relationship with toxicity and with As accumulation in the cell have been studied in laboratory cultures of the marine microalga Phaeodactylum tricornutum. The time course of cellular PC and As in short-term exposures showed that the involvement of PC in the As detoxification as well as the pathway of cellular As depend on the extent of As accumulation and on the rate of PC synthesis. At arsenate concentrations causing As accumulation at a rate exceeding that of PC synthesis, cells seem to activate a mechanism of release of As mainly in a chemical form not complexed with PC. At arsenate concentrations at which the synthesis of PC occurs at a rate sufficient to allow a significant portion of As accumulated in the cell to be bound, the fate of cellular As seems to be mainly controlled by PC. The occurrence of these different pathways of As detoxification was discussed to explain the pattern of cellular As and PC in cells grown for three days at growth-inhibitory and at no growth-inhibitory concentration of arsenate.