Accumulation of arsenic in blue-green alga, Phormidium sp.

The behavior of a blue-green alga, Phormidium sp., against inorganic arsenic dissolved in media was studied. The Phormidium sp. was shown to have capabilities of endurance against a high concentration stress of arsenic and of accumulation of arsenic. Studies on excretion of arsenic by the alga showed that there were two excretion modes, each of which had a characteristic rate constant and it could be attributed to two types of binding situations between arsenic and the tissues of the alga. The arsenate absorbed by the algae was readily reduced to arsenite within their tissues.