Trimethylantimony generation by Scopulariopsis brevicaulis during aerobic growth

Trimethylantimony was detected with high frequency in the headspace of Scopulariopsis brevicaulis cultures during aerobic growth. The compound was formed biologically from potassium antimony tartrate and no other volatile antimony species were detected. Complete biomethylation of antimony (III) species to trimethylantimony in the absence of an anoxic stage indicates that this gas could be formed in natural aerobic environments through the action of microorganisms. Biogenesis of trimethylantimony in aerobic environments, with subsequent abiotic oxidation of the compound, could account for the presence of involatile methylated antimony species in natural bodies of water and in the culture media of microbial cultures. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.