Manganese and Arsenic Oxidation Performance of Bacterium-Yunotaki 86 (BY86) from Hokkaido, Japan, and the Bacterium's Phylogeny

We examined the Mn(II) oxidation performance of a bacterium, BY86, collected at Yunotaki Falls Hokkaido, Japan. The bacterium showed rapid oxidation of Mn(II), and brown precipitates containing Mn formed within a few days of incubation. The presence of higher oxidation states of Mn than Mn(II) was ascertained by the UV-vis and XANES sutdy. This bacterium did not oxidize As(III) to As(V) in the absence of Mn. In the presence of Mn, however, As(III) was rapidly oxidized to As(V) on the cell surfaces. These findings indicate that BY86 does not have the ability to directly oxidize As(III) to As(V) within a short period of contact, but indirectly oxidizes it by the Mn oxides generated on the cell surfaces. A phylogenetical study disclosed that BY86 was most closely related to Bacillus cereus with an identity of 99.90%. It is expected that our findings in this study will contribute to the study of Mn(II)-oxidizing bacteria, which play an important role in the biogeochemical cycling of Mn as well as other trace elements including As.