Reduction of selenite to red elemental selenium by methane-oxidizing bacteria

Selenium (Se) is an essential element that is required for biosynthesis of selenocysteine, the 21st proteinogenic amino acid in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Se is toxic at high concentrations for most living organisms.1 Toxic high levels of Se, particularly in the form of selenite (SeO32-) in the environment, may be of natural or anthropogenic origin. In the natural environments, Se is subject to various microbial transformations which are important for bioremediation of Se species.2
For example, microbial reduction of toxic SeO32- to insoluble elemental selenium (Se0) results in its removal from water. Also, the reduction and methylation of SeO42- and SeO32- is considered an effective detoxification process, since the products (dimethylselenide [DMSe] or dimethyldiselenide [DMDSe]) are 500 to 700 times less toxic than SeO42- or SeO32-.3
Although a wide range of microorganisms have been investigated for their ability to transform selenium species, to our knowledge, aerobic methane-oxidising bacteria (which are ubiquitous in the environment and have numerous potential applications in remediation of organic and inorganic pollutants) have not previously been investigated for their ability to transform Se compounds.