Wr. Cullen et al., ARSENIC BIOMETHYLATION BY THE MICROORGANISM APIOTRICHUM HUMICOLA IN THE PRESENCE OF L-METHIONINE-METHYL-D(3), Applied organometallic chemistry, 9(7), 1995, pp. 507-515
The microorganism Apiotrichum humicola (previously known as Candida hu
micola) grown in the presence of either arsenate, arsenite, methyl-ars
onic acid or dimethylarsinic acid, produces arsenic-containing metabol
ites in the growth medium. When L-methionine-methyl-d(3) is added to t
he cultures, the CD3 label is incorporated intact into the metabolites
to a considerable extent to form deuterated dimethylarsenic and trime
thylarsenic species, indicating that S-adenosylmethionine, or some rel
ated sulphonium compound, is involved in the biological methylation. C
onclusive evidence of CD3 incorporation in the arsenicals found in the
growth medium was provided by using a specially developed hydride gen
eration-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry system (HG-GC-MS).