Concerns have been raised about our recent study describing a bacterium that can grow using arsenic (As) instead of phosphorus (P). Our data suggested that As could act as a substitute for P in major biomolecules in this organism. Although the issues raised are of investigative interest, we contend that they do not invalidate our conclusions. We argue that while no single line of evidence we presented was sufficient to support our interpretation of the data, taken as an entire dataset we find

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... plausible alternative to our conclusions. Here we reply to the critiques and provide additional arguments supporting the assessment of the data we reported.