Some like it cold: microbial transformations of mercury in polar regions

Polar research

Niels Kroer¹  Tamar Barkay²  Alexandre J. Poulain⁴ 

[1] Department of Environmental Chemistry and Microbiology, National Environmental Research Institute, Aarhus University Frederiksborgvej 399DK-4000 Roskilde Denmark Correspondence;Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University 76 Lipman DrNew Brunswick NJ 08901, USA;Department of Biology, University of Ottawa 30-268 Marie CurieOttawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5, Canada;Department of Environmental Chemistry and Microbiology, National Environmental Research Institute, Aarhus University Frederiksborgvej 399DK-4000 Roskilde Denmark

关键词: Microbiology;    mercury biogeochemistry;    redox transformations;    polar regions;    methylation;   

DOI  :  10.3402/polar.v30i0.15469

学科分类：自然科学（综合）

来源: Co-Action Publishing

【 摘 要 】

The contamination of polar regions with mercury that is transported from lower latitudes as inorganic mercury has resulted in the accumulation of methylmercury (MeHg) in food chains, risking the health of humans and wildlife. While production of MeHg has been documented in polar marine and terrestrial environments, little is known about the responsible transformations and transport pathways and the processes that control them. We posit that as in temperate environments, microbial transformations play a key role in mercury geochemical cycling in polar regions by: (1) methylating mercury by one of four proposed pathways, some not previously described; (2) degrading MeHg by activities of mercury resistant and other bacteria; and (3) carrying out redox transformations that control the supply of the mercuric ion, the substrate of methylation reactions. Recent analyses have identified a high potential for mercury-resistant microbes that express the enzyme mercuric reductase to affect the production of gaseous e...

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC