Abstract
Abstract The biochemistry of arsenic is of considerable interest owing to the widespread presence of the element in marine organisms.1 The substance arsenobetaine (Me3-As+CH2CO2 −) has been isolated from the tail muscle of the western rock lobster (Panulirus longipes cygnus) and from the flesh of the dusky shark (Carcharhinus obscurus) and subsequently characterized by independent synthesis and X-ray crystal structure analysis.2 In addition, two arsenic-containing ribose derivatives have been isolated from the brown kelp Ecklonia radiata, which is part of the coastal ecosystem to which the rock lobster belongs.3 Assimilation, reduction, and methylation of arsenate also occurs in photosynthetic marine organisms,4,5 particularly in phosphate-depleted tropical waters, and in molluscs and ascidians, where arsenic accumulation was found to be greatest in organisms bearing symbiotic algae.5 Marine algae cultured in [74As] arsenate synthesize an arsenic-containing phospholipid.6 Base-catalysed deacylation of the...
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