Antimony biomethylation by mixed cultures of micro-organisms under anaerobic conditions

Abstract

The volatile antimony compound trimethylantimony (TMA) was detected in headspace gases over anaerobic soil enrichment cultures spiked with potassium antimony tartrate. The presence of TMA was variable (12 positives from 104 cultures) and dependent upon both the inoculum source (environmental sample) and enrichment culture conditions. Positives for TMA formation were obtained with variable frequency for four of the six soils tested and for three types of enrichment culture, designed to encourage growth of nitrate-reducing, methane-producing or fermentative bacteria. The identity of the volatile antimony compound produced in each of the three types of enrichment culture was confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-atomic absorption spectroscopy. There was no evidence of any other volatile antimony compound in the headspace gases. These data suggest that the capability to generate TMA is widely distributed in the terrestrial environment and is attributable to different metabolic types of micro-organisms.