Research & Development World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

Bacterial genome may hold answers to mercury mystery

By R&D Editors | April 11, 2011

BrownGenome1

A bacterium called Desulfovibrio desulfuricans strain ND132 can transform elemental mercury into methylmercury, a human neurotoxin.

A
newly sequenced bacterial genome from a team led by the Department of
Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory could contain clues as to how
microorganisms produce a highly toxic form of mercury.

Methylmercury,
a potent human neurotoxin, appears in the environment when certain
naturally occurring bacteria transform inorganic mercury into its more
toxic cousin. Few bacterial species are capable of this conversion, and
exactly how the transformation takes place has been a matter of debate
for decades.

“What
is not known are the genes or the proteins that allow these bacteria to
mediate the transformation,” said ORNL’s Steven Brown, who led a
research team to sequence the genome of a bacterium in the Desulfovibrio
genus that is capable of methylating mercury.

The
new genome, sequenced at the California-based DOE Joint Genome
Institute (JGI) and published in the Journal of Bacteriology, lays the
foundation for future research to examine the little understood
mechanisms behind the production of methylmercury.

Desulfovibrio
desulfuricans strain ND132 is an organism that thrives in sediments and
soils without oxygen – the places in lakes, streams and wetlands where
mercury contamination is converted to methylmercury. It is
representative of a group of organisms that “breathe” sulfate instead of
oxygen and are largely responsible for mercury methylation in nature.

“This
is the first Desulfovibrio genome that will methylate mercury that’s
been published,” Brown said. “Now that we have this resource, we can
take a comparative approach and look at what is different between the
bacteria that can methylate mercury and those that are unable to.”

The
introduction of mercury into the environment primarily stems from its
use in industrial processes and from the burning of fossil fuels.
Although industry and regulators have worked to minimize the release of
mercury, there is a legacy of mercury pollution in aquatic environments
worldwide. Understanding the fundamental science behind the production
of methylmercury could eventually help mitigate and reduce the impacts
of mercury pollution.

“Mercury
is a global contaminant of concern,” Brown said. “We hope that some of
the lessons we learn from these studies will be applicable to many
sites. If we can identify the genes involved in mercury methylation, we
hope to go to the local environment and understand more about the
function and the ecology of the organisms and their gene products that
mediate this transformation.”

The
study was published as “Genome Sequence of the Mercury Methylating
Strain Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ND132.” Collaborators included
researchers from ORNL, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center,
the University of Missouri and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s
JGI. The research was supported by DOE’s Office of Science. ORNL is
managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

SOURCE

Related Articles Read More >

Eli Lilly facility
9 R&D developments this week: Lilly builds major R&D center, Stratolaunch tests hypersonic craft, IBM chief urges AI R&D funding
professional photo of wooly mammoth in nature --ar 2:1 --personalize sq85hce --v 6.1 Job ID: 47185eaa-b213-4624-8bee-44f9e882feaa
Why science ethicists are sounding skepticism and alarm on ‘de-extinction’
ALAFIA system speeds complex molecular simulations for University of Miami drug research
3d rendered illustration of the anatomy of a cancer cell
Funding flows to obesity, oncology and immunology: 2024 sales data show where science is paying off
rd newsletter
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, trends, and strategies in Research & Development.
RD 25 Power Index

R&D World Digital Issues

Fall 2024 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R&D magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE