Comment on "A bacterium that can grow by using arsenic instead of phosphorus"

Abstract

Wolfe-Simon et al. (Research Articles, 3 June 2011, p. 1163; published online 2 December 2010) argued that the bacterial strain GFAJ-1 can vary the elemental composition of its biomolecules by substituting arsenic for phosphorus. Although their data show that GFAJ-1 is an extraordinary extremophile, consideration of arsenate redox chemistry undermines the suggestion that arsenate can replace the physiologic functions of phosphate.