| Oxidation and methylation of dissolved elemental mercury by anaerobic bacteria | |
Haiyan Hu; Hui Lin; Wang Zheng; Stephen J. Tomanicek; Alexander Johs; Xinbin Feng ; Dwayne A. Elias; Liyuan Liang; Baohua Gu
| |
| 2013 | |
| Source Publication | Nature Geoscience
 |
| Volume | 6Issue:9Pages:751-754 |
| Abstract | Methylmercury is a neurotoxin that poses significant health risks to humans. Some anaerobic sulphate- and iron-reducing bacteria can methylate oxidized forms of mercury, generating methylmercury(1-4). One strain of sulphate-reducing bacteria (Desulfovibrio desulphuricans ND132) can also methylate elemental mercury(5). The prevalence of this trait among different bacterial strains and species remains unclear, however. Here, we compare the ability of two strains of the sulphate-reducing bacterium Desulfovibrio and one strain of the iron-reducing bacterium Geobacter to oxidize and methylate elemental mercury in a series of laboratory incubations. Experiments were carried out under dark, anaerobic conditions, in the presence of environmentally relevant concentrations of elemental mercury. We report differences in the ability of these organisms to oxidize and methylate elemental mercury. In line with recent findings(5), we show that D. desulphuricans ND132 can both oxidize and methylate elemental mercury. We find that the rate of methylation of elemental mercury is about one-third the rate of methylation of oxidized mercury. We also show that Desulfovibrio alaskensis G20 can oxidize, but not methylate, elemental mercury. Geobacter sulphurreducens PCA is able to oxidize and methylate elemental mercury in the presence of cysteine. We suggest that the activity of methylating and non-methylating bacteria may together enhance the formation of methylmercury in anaerobic environments. |
| Subject Area | 环境地球化学 |
| Indexed By | SCI |
| Language | 英语 |
| Document Type | 期刊论文 |
| Identifier | http://ir.gyig.ac.cn/handle/352002/5043 |
| Collection | 环境地球化学国家重点实验室_环境地球化学国家重点实验室_期刊论文 环境地球化学国家重点实验室 |
| Recommended Citation GB/T 7714 | Haiyan Hu,Hui Lin,Wang Zheng,et al. Oxidation and methylation of dissolved elemental mercury by anaerobic bacteria[J]. Nature Geoscience,2013,6(9):751-754. |
| APA | Haiyan Hu.,Hui Lin.,Wang Zheng.,Stephen J. Tomanicek.,Alexander Johs.,...&Baohua Gu.(2013).Oxidation and methylation of dissolved elemental mercury by anaerobic bacteria.Nature Geoscience,6(9),751-754. |
| MLA | Haiyan Hu,et al."Oxidation and methylation of dissolved elemental mercury by anaerobic bacteria".Nature Geoscience 6.9(2013):751-754. |
| Files in This Item: | Download All | |||||
| File Name/Size | DocType | Version | Access | License | ||
| Oxidation and methyl（204KB） | 开放获取 | License | View Download | |||
Items in the repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
Edit Comment