Raab Andrea, Feldmann Jörg
University of Aberdeen, School of Physical Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Meston Walk, Old Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, Scotland, UK.
Sci Prog. 2003;86(Pt 3):179-202. doi: 10.3184/003685003783238671.
Throughout evolution, microbes have developed the ability to live in nearly every environmental condition on earth. They can grow with or without oxygen or light. Microbes can dissolve or precipitate ores and are able to yield energy from the reduction/oxidation of metal ions. Their metabolism depends on the availability of metal ions in essential amounts and protects itself from toxic amounts of metals by detoxification processes. Metals are metabolised to metallorgano-compounds, bound to proteins or used as catalytic centres of enzymes in biological reactions. Microbes, as every other cell, have developed a whole range of mechanisms for the uptake and excretion of metals and their metabolised compounds. The diversity of microbial metabolism can be illustrated by the fact that certain microbes can be found living on arsenate, which is considered a highly toxic metal for most other forms of live.
在整个进化过程中，微生物已发展出在地球上几乎每种环境条件下生存的能力。它们可以在有或没有氧气或光照的情况下生长。微生物能够溶解或沉淀矿石，并能通过金属离子的还原/氧化产生能量。它们的新陈代谢取决于必需量金属离子的可用性，并通过解毒过程保护自身免受过量有毒金属的侵害。金属被代谢为金属有机化合物，与蛋白质结合或在生物反应中用作酶的催化中心。与其他细胞一样，微生物已发展出一整套摄取和排泄金属及其代谢化合物的机制。某些微生物可以在砷酸盐上生存，而砷酸盐对大多数其他生命形式来说被认为是一种剧毒金属，这一事实可以说明微生物代谢的多样性。
