Transcriptomic evidence for versatile metabolic activities of mercury cycling microorganisms in brackish microbial mats.

ABSTRACT: Methylmercury, biomagnifying through food chains, is highly toxic for aquatic life. Its production and degradation are largely driven by microbial transformations; however, diversity and metabolic activity of mercury transformers, resulting in methylmercury concentrations in environments, remain poorly understood. Microbial mats are thick biofilms where oxic and anoxic metabolisms cooccur, providing opportunities to investigate the complexity of the microbial mercury transformations over contrasted redox conditions. Here, we conducted a genome-resolved metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analysis to identify putative activity of mercury reducers, methylators and demethylators in microbial mats strongly contaminated by mercury. Our transcriptomic results revealed the major role of rare micro

SUBMITTER: Vigneron A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8605020 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature