In a landmark study published in PLOS Biology, scientists from the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, have revealed how the deep-sea hydrothermal vent worm Alvinella pompejana (referred to as Hes’s pseudo-Alvinella) survives in one of Earth’s most toxic environments—hydrothermal vent ecosystems. These environments, located at tectonic plate boundaries, spew superheated seawater saturated with hydrogen sulfide, heavy metals, and arsenic.
Key findings include:
The worm exhibits a bright yellow coloration due to granular particles in its epidermal cells.
It lives closer to active vent chimneys than any other known animal, including vent shrimp and mussels.
Despite accumulating arsenic up to 1% of its body weight, the worm remains unharmed.
Advanced genomic and proteomic analyses showed that the yellow particles consist primarily of arsenic and sulfur, identical to the mineral orpiment (As₂S₃). The particles are enriched with multidrug resistance transporters (which bind and transport arsenic) and hemoglobin (which binds and transports sulfide).
The researchers propose a novel “arsenic-sulfide coupling detoxification” mechanism:
The worm ingests arsenic-rich biofilm.
Arsenic is transported via multidrug resistance proteins and concentrated in epithelial cells (e.g., crown, gills, digestive tract).
Sulfide is delivered to the same cells via hemoglobin.
The two toxins react intracellularly to form insoluble orpiment, effectively neutralizing their toxicity.
This study is the first to demonstrate how an animal detoxifies itself by combining two environmental poisons, providing a new perspective on evolutionary adaptation and opening avenues for research in biomineralization and environmental toxicology.
Evolutionary biologist Professor Peter Girguis of Harvard University remarked: “This is the first time arsenic minerals have been found in animal cells. It reminds us that life’s solutions to environmental challenges are far more creative than we imagined.”
The research was supported by deep-sea expeditions aboard the R/V Kexue (Science) and focused on hydrothermal vents in the Okinawa Trough.