US EditionDeep-Sea Worm Turns Two Deadly Toxins Into Golden Mineral
Paralvinella hessleri transforms toxic arsenic and sulfide from hydrothermal vents into orpiment, a protective mineral making up over 1% of its body weight, researchers found.
- Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences found that Paralvinella hessleri converts arsenic and sulfide from hydrothermal vents into protective orpiment, PLOS Biology reported August 26.
- The vent fluids contain high levels of sulfide and arsenic, which accumulate in Paralvinella hessleri, sometimes making up more than 1% of its body weight near hydrothermal vents over 8,000-feet-deep.
- Using microscopy, spectroscopy and Raman analysis, researchers identified vibrant, spherical intracellular granules in epithelial cells as orpiment minerals formed when arsenic reacted with sulfide.
- The study provides new insights into a detoxification strategy enabling Paralvinella hessleri to 'fight poison with poison' and inhabit toxic zones, and study authors hope this model prompts scientists to rethink marine invertebrates' toxin interactions.
- Orpiment dates back to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, and the study team says finding it so far from any painter's palette represents a curious convergence of biology and art history.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Science Daily
The bright yellow worm that turns ocean poison into golden survival crystals
Deep beneath the Pacific Ocean, a bright yellow worm thrives where no other animals dare, in toxic hydrothermal vents saturated with arsenic and sulfide. By cleverly turning these poisons into a golden mineral once prized by Renaissance painters, the worm neutralizes the deadly threat and survives in one of Earth’s most hostile habitats. Scientists say this unusual “fighting poison with poison” strategy could change how we think about life’s res…
Pigment prized by painters helps worm survive its toxic home
Microscopy analysis of the yellow granules in a longitudinal section of P. hessleri’s branchial apparatus stem. Credit: Wang H, et al., 2025, PLOS Biology, CC-BY 4.0 In the depths of the Pacific Ocean a bright yellow worm is the only animal to survive and thrive on the hottest parts of deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Arsenic – a highly toxic and carcinogenic metalloid – and hydrogen sulphide boil up from the Earth’s interior and accumulate within t…
Deep sea worm fights 'poison with poison' to survive high arsenic and sulfide levels
A deep sea worm that inhabits hydrothermal vents survives the high levels of toxic arsenic and sulfide in its environment by combining them in its cells to form a less hazardous mineral. Chaolun Li of the Institute of Oceanology, CAS, China, and colleagues report these findings in a study published in the open-access journal PLOS Biology.
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