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Abstract
Arsenic is a non-essential, environmentally ubiquitous toxic metalloid. In response
to this pervasive environmental challenge, organisms evolved mechanisms to confer
resistance to arsenicals. Inorganic pentavalent arsenate is taken into most cells
adventitiously by phosphate uptake systems. Similarly, inorganic trivalent arsenite
is taken into most cells adventitiously, primarily via aquaglyceroporins or sugar
permeases. The most common strategy for tolerance to both inorganic and organic arsenicals
is by efflux that extrude them from the cytosol. These efflux transporters span across
kingdoms and belong to various families such as aquaglyceroporins, major facilitator
superfamily (MFS) transporters, ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters and potentially
novel, yet to be discovered families. This review will outline the properties and
substrates of known arsenic transport systems, the current knowledge gaps in the field,
and aims to provide insight into the importance of arsenic transport in the context
of the global arsenic biogeocycle and human health.