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Relationships between bacterial energetic metabolism, mercury methylation potential, and hgcA/hgcB gene expression in Desulfovibrio dechloroacetivorans BerOc1

  • Microbial Ecology of the Continental and Coastal Environments
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Abstract

The proteins encoded by the hgcA and hgcB genes are currently the only ones known to be involved in the mercury methylation by anaerobic microorganisms. However, no studies have been published to determine the relationships between their expression level and the net/gross methylmercury production. This study aimed to decipher the effect of growth conditions on methylmercury production and the relationships between hgcA and hgcB expression levels and net methylation. Desulfovibrio dechloroacetivorans strain BerOc1 was grown under sulfidogenic conditions with different carbon sources and electron donors as well as under fumarate respiration. A good correlation was found between the biomass production and the methylmercury production when the strain was grown under sulfate-reducing conditions. Methylmercury production was much higher under fumarate respiration when no sulfide was produced. During exponential growth, hgcA and hgcB gene expression levels were only slightly higher in the presence of inorganic mercury, and it was difficult to conclude whether there was a significant induction of hgcA and hgcB genes by inorganic mercury. Besides, no relationships between hgcA and hgcB expression levels and net mercury methylation could be observed when the strain was grown either under sulfate reduction or fumarate respiration, indicating that environmental factors had more influence than expression levels.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the CNRS-INSU EC2CO (Biomer Project). Authors acknowledge Angela Ivask for kindly providing the E. coli MC1061 biosensor.

Compliance with ethical standards

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. All authors have been informed about this publication and have given their consent. This research did not involve Human Participants and/or Animals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. EEM-UMR IPREM CNRS 5254, Equipe Environnement et Microbiologie, University of Pau, Pau, France

    Marisol Goñi-Urriza, Yannick Corsellis, Jérôme Gury & Rémy Guyoneaud

  2. LCABIE-UMR IPREM CNRS 5254, Laboratoire de Chimie Analytique Bio-Inorganique et Environnement, University of Pau, Pau, France

    Laurent Lanceleur, Emmanuel Tessier & Mathilde Monperrus

Authors
  1. Marisol Goñi-Urriza
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  2. Yannick Corsellis
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  3. Laurent Lanceleur
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  4. Emmanuel Tessier
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  5. Jérôme Gury
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  6. Mathilde Monperrus
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  7. Rémy Guyoneaud
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Correspondence to Marisol Goñi-Urriza.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Goñi-Urriza, M., Corsellis, Y., Lanceleur, L. et al. Relationships between bacterial energetic metabolism, mercury methylation potential, and hgcA/hgcB gene expression in Desulfovibrio dechloroacetivorans BerOc1. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 13764–13771 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4273-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4273-5

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