Rhodium has no known biological function and is toxic to many bacteria (Bien et al, 1999). Tolerance of Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides to rhodium sesquioxide was attributed to intracellular reduction of the rhodium oxyanion and deposition of the reduced metal in the cytoplasmic membrane (Moore and Kaplan, 1992). Propionibacterium shermanii cells grown in the absence of cobalt created rhodium-carbon bonds in the formation of 5'-deoxyadenosylrhodibalamin from chloro- or aquo-rhodibalamin molecules (Koppenhagen et al, 1974).

For more information:

Search Medline for rhodium metabolism AND bacteria