Kinetics of arsenite removal by halobacteria from a highland Andean Chilean Salar.

Background: The purpose of this study was to identify arsenite-oxidizing halobacteria in samples obtained from Salar de Punta Negra, II Region of Chile. Seven bacterial isolates, numbered as isolates I to VII, grown in a culture medium with 100 ppm as NaAsO2 (As (III)) were tested. Bacterial growth kinetics and the percent of arsenite removal (PAR) were performed simultaneously with the detection of an arsenite oxidase enzyme through Dot Blot analysis.

Occurrence of arsenic species in algae and freshwater plants of an extreme arid region in northern Chile, the Loa River Basin.

This study reports data on arsenic speciation in two green algae species (Cladophora sp. and Chara sp.) and in five aquatic plants (Azolla sp.

Biochemical profile of halophilous microalgae strains from high-andean extreme ecosystems (NE-Chile) using methodological validation approaches.

The main goal of this work is to characterize the biochemical profile of three halophilous microalgal strains isolated from extreme ecosystems in northern Chile to assess their potential as possible sources of technological and commercial advantages. A procedure for the validation of a routine method for determining the total protein, carbohydrate, lipid and chlorophyll a (Chl-a) contents in Chlorella fusca, Dunaliella salina and Spirulina sp. has been developed.

Chronic exposure to arsenic in tap water reduces acetylcholine-induced relaxation in the aorta and increases oxidative stress in female rats.

The aim of this work is to determine whether consuming tap water containing arsenic (20 microg/L) alters oxidative stress levels in female rats and changes vascular response. Whereas nitric oxide produces complete relaxation, arsenic (7 months of exposure) impairs the acetylcholine-induced endothelial relaxation in the rat aorta compared with control rats. Arsenic exposure results in a marked elevation in reactive oxygen species in blood, and delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase activity, which is a sensitive biomarker for arsenic toxicity and oxidative stress, is significantly decreased in erythrocytes from 7-month-old rats.