Department of Chemistry, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.
Department of Microbiology, RIBES, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Adv Microb Physiol. 2022;81:1-24. doi: 10.1016/bs.ampbs.2022.06.001. Epub 2022 Jul 20.
Because of their use in high technologies like computers, smartphones and renewable energy applications, lanthanides (belonging to the group of rare earth elements) are essential for our daily lives. A range of applications in medicine and biochemical research made use of their photo-physical properties. The discovery of a biological role for lanthanides has boosted research in this new field. Several methanotrophs and methylotrophs are strictly dependent on the presence of lanthanides in the growth medium while others show a regulatory response. After the first demonstration of a lanthanide in the active site of the XoxF-type pyrroloquinoline quinone methanol dehydrogenases, follow-up studies showed the same for other pyrroloquinoline quinone-containing enzymes. In addition, research focused on the effect of lanthanides on regulation of gene expression and uptake mechanism into bacterial cells. This review briefly describes the discovery of the role of lanthanides in biology and focuses on open questions in biological lanthanide research and possible application of lanthanide-containing bacteria and enzymes in recovery of these special elements.
由于它们在高科技领域的应用，如计算机、智能手机和可再生能源应用，镧系元素（属于稀土元素组）对我们的日常生活至关重要。医学和生化研究中的一系列应用利用了它们的光物理性质。镧系元素生物作用的发现促进了这一新领域的研究。一些甲烷营养菌和甲醇营养菌严格依赖于生长培养基中镧系元素的存在，而其他则表现出调节反应。在 XoxF 型吡咯并喹啉醌甲醇脱氢酶的活性位点中首次证明了镧系元素的存在后，后续研究表明其他含有吡咯并喹啉醌的酶也是如此。此外，研究还集中在镧系元素对基因表达调控和摄取机制进入细菌细胞的影响上。本文简要描述了镧系元素在生物学中的作用的发现，并重点介绍了生物学中镧系元素研究的一些开放性问题，以及含镧系元素的细菌和酶在这些特殊元素回收中的可能应用。
