Arsenate reduction coupled to anaerobic oxidation of methane by members of the Methanoperedenaceae.

couples arsenate reduction to methane oxidation, revealing a new metabolic pathway with stoichiometric evidence in freshwater sediments.

• Why it matters: Understanding microbial arsenate reduction linked to methane oxidation is crucial because it influences methane emissions and arsenic mobilization, impacting climate and public health.
• What they did: Researchers used enrichment cultures and meta-omics techniques to demonstrate arsenate reduction coupled to methane oxidation, showing that exclusively encodes and upregulates arsenate oxidoreductases under these conditions.
• The result: This discovery broadens knowledge of physiology and highlights microbial processes that affect arsenic cycling and methane mitigation in freshwater environments.