Sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ND132 as a model for understanding bacterial mercury methylation.

ABSTRACT: We propose the use of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ND132 as a model species for understanding the mechanism of microbial Hg methylation. Strain ND132 is an anaerobic dissimilatory sulfate-reducing bacterium (DSRB), isolated from estuarine mid-Chesapeake Bay sediments. It was chosen for study because of its exceptionally high rates of Hg methylation in culture and its metabolic similarity to the lost strain D. desulfuricans LS, the only organism for which methylation pathways have been partially defined. Strain ND132 is an incomplete oxidizer of short-chain fatty acids. It is capable of respiratory growth using fumarate as an electron acceptor, supporting growth without sulfide production. We used enriched stable Hg isotopes to show that ND132 simultaneously produces and degrades methylmercu

SUBMITTER: Gilmour CC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3131654 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature