New Arsenate Reductase Gene ( <i>arrA</i> ) PCR Primers for Diversity Assessment and Quantification in Environmental Samples

Abstract

Arsenic is a major drinking water contaminant that threatens the health of millions of people worldwide. The extent of arsenic contamination and its potential threat to human health have resulted in considerable interest in the study of microbial species responsible for the reduction of arsenic, i.e., the conversion of As^V to As^III In this study, we developed a new primer pair to evaluate the diversity and abundance of arsenate-reducing microorganisms in soil and groundwater samples from the CVB in Utah. We observed significant arrA gene diversity in the CVB soil and groundwater samples, and arrA gene abundance was significantly correlated with the reduced arsenic (As^III) concentrations in the groundwater samples. We think that these primers are useful for studying the ecology of arsenate-reducing microorganisms in different environments.