FIU research team discovers algae that could help clean up environment, make food supply safer

The algae in Yellowstone National Park could one day save lives by consuming the arsenic in toxic sites and ridding crops, such as rice, of dangerous levels of the contaminant.

Researchers at Florida International University’s College of Medicine have discovered that the one-celled alga called Cyanidioschyzon thrives despite the toxic concentrations of arsenic in the area-a feat few organisms can achieve, including humans.

The alga and how it detoxifies arsenic are described in a paper that appeared online this month in the prestigious scientific journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The primary author is Jie Qin, a new assistant professor at the FIU College of Medicine and contributors include Tim McDermott at Montana State University and X. Chris Le at the University of Alberta, Canada.

The team’s findings could lead to the elimination of the cancer-causing metal, which is used in several types of herbicides and is ranked first on the Superfund list of hazardous substances, from toxic sites and contaminated food supplies.

Barry P. Rosen, associate dean for research and graduate studies at the FIU College of Medicine, led an international research team that discovered that the algae found in the Norris Geyser Basin at Yellowstone have learned to adapt and process the arsenic safely into a gas. These findings have led to several prospects-all with a common life-saving theme.

“What we learn from this alga can be used to develop new strategies for cleaning up the environment, growing hardier and safer food crops and developing new drugs,” said Rosen.

Rosen has already begun exploring how his discovery can help people. He has teamed up with Yongguan Zhu, a scientist at the Research Center for Ecoenvironmental Sciences in Beijing, to engineer a new form of rice using genes from the algae. Rice fields in the southern United States, as well as several countries in Asia, have been found to contain high levels of arsenic, which seeps into the grains and increases humans’ risks of cancer.

“Some plants, such as rice, accumulate high concentrations of arsenic,” Rosen said. “This endangers our food supply. Rice with high amounts of arsenic won’t kill anyone quickly, but does increase the risk of cancers such as bladder cancer.”

But if rice could be as resistant to arsenic as the algae found in Yellowstone, Rosen and his colleagues in China believe the dangers of ingesting the cancer-causing element would be eliminated.

Another possibility would involve using the algae to absorb the arsenic in toxic sites. Currently, environmental agencies clean up toxic sites by either paving over the contaminated soil, removing it, or treating it through a complicated and expensive chemical process. People living near toxic sites have been known to be more susceptible to different forms of cancers.

Rosen theorizes that if microorganisms with genes from the algae were introduced into the soil, they could vaporize the toxic element and clean up the soil.

One of FIU College of Medicine’s newest hires, Rosen came to Miami from Wayne State University in Detroit. He has earned two National Institute of Health grants, including a prestigious MERIT award, and has been awarded nearly $20 million in research grants over his 35-year career. He comes to FIU with a seven-member team made up of faculty and researchers.

“This is the kind of groundbreaking research that FIU’s College of Medicine will bring to our community,” said Dr. John Rock, dean of the College of Medicine. “Dr. Rosen’s incredible work is a perfect example of the kind of breakthroughs we can expect from the world renowned doctors and researchers we are attracting to Miami.”

Media Contact: Jean-Paul Renaud at 305-348-2716 or jprenaud@fiu.edu.

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About the FIU College of Medicine

The College of Medicine was approved in 2006 by the Florida Board of Governors and the Florida Legislature.  In 2008, it received preliminary accreditation by the Liaison Committee for Medical Education of the AAMC and will admit its first class in the fall of 2009. Among the innovative elements of the FIU College of Medicine is a program called NeighborhoodHELP, which will send medical students along with their counterparts in social work, nursing and public health, into the community from the onset of their academic programs. The FIU College of Medicine is expected to have a multi-billion-dollar economic impact on Miami-Dade County, bringing thousands of jobs to the area and eventually contributing millions to the state coffers every year. For more information visit http://medicine.fiu.edu/

About FIU:

Florida International University was founded in 1965 and is Miami’s only public research university. With a student body of more than 38,000, FIU graduates more Hispanics than any other university in the country. Its 17 colleges and schools offer more than 200 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations and law. FIU has been classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a “High Research Activity University.” In 2006 FIU was authorized to establish a medical school, which will welcome its first class in 2009. FIU’s College of Law recently received accreditation in the fastest time allowed by the American Bar Association.