Evidence of Mercury Methylation and Demethylation by the Estuarine Microbial Communities Obtained in Stable Hg Isotope Studies.

ABSTRACT: Microbial activity is a critical factor controlling methylmercury formation in aquatic environments. Microbial communities were isolated from sediments of two highly mercury-polluted areas of the Tagus Estuary (Barreiro and Cala do Norte) and differentiated according to their dependence on oxygen into three groups: aerobic, anaerobic, and sulphate-reducing microbial communities. Their potential to methylate mercury and demethylate methylmercury was evaluated through incubation with isotope-enriched Hg species (¹⁹⁹HgCl and CH₃²⁰¹HgCl). The results showed that the isolated microbial communities are actively involved in methylation and demethylation processes. The production of CH₃¹⁹⁹Hg was positively correlated with sulphate-reducing microbial communities, me

SUBMITTER: Figueiredo N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6210349 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature