[SCAN] Challenging the norm: New insights into yeast arsenic detoxification

Title: Challenging the norm: New insights into yeast arsenic detoxification

Speaker: Sofia M. da Silva

Abstract: Arsenic (As) is a naturally occurring and highly toxic metalloid, widely distributed in the environment. Due to water and food contamination, over 200 million people worldwide are chronically exposed to arsenic concentrations exceeding the safety standard defined by the World Health Organization (10 µg/L). Long-term exposure to arsenic can result in a spectrum of health issues, including skin lesions, neurological and cardiovascular diseases, and even cancer.

The development of sustainable and environmentally friendly processes able to mitigate arsenic contamination relies on the comprehensive knowledge of arsenic detoxification pathways. In the unicellular yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae it is generally accepted that arsenic detoxification strongly depends on both the arsenate reductase Acr2 and the arsenite permease Acr3. The current view is that when arsenate (As^V) enters the yeast, it is reduced to arsenite (As^III) by the arsenate reductase Acr2. Then, AsIII is transported out of the cell through the plasma membrane Acr3 As^III/H⁺ antiporter system. However, our recent data indicate that arsenate detoxification is considerably more complex than currently assumed. In this talk, I will present our latest findings, which challenge the existing model of arsenate detoxification, and share our initial progress in using yeast as a tool for arsenic bioremediation.