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Early detection of mercury contamination by fluorescence induction of photosynthetic bacteria

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Abstract

The induction (sudden dark-to-light transition) of fluorescence of photosynthetic bacteria has proved to be sensitive tool for early detection of mercury (Hg2+) contamination of the culture medium. The major characteristics of the induction (dark, variable and maximum fluorescence levels together with rise time) offer an easier, faster and more informative assay of indication of the contamination than the conventional techniques. The inhibition of Hg2+ is stronger in the light than in the dark and follows complex kinetics. The fast component (in minutes) reflects the damage of the quinone acceptor pool of the RC and the slow component (in hours) is sensitive to the disintegration of the light harvesting system including the loss of the structural organization and of the pigments. By use of fluorescence induction, the dependence of the diverse pathways and kinetics of the mercury-induced effects on the age and the metabolic state of the bacteria were revealed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biophysics, University of Szeged, Rerrich Béla tér 1, H-6720, Hungary

    Emese Asztalos & Péter Maróti

  2. Istituto per i Processi Chimico Fisici - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Orabona, 4 70124, Bari, Italy

    Francesca Italiano, Francesco Milano & Massimo Trotta

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  1. Emese Asztalos
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  2. Francesca Italiano
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  3. Francesco Milano
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  4. Péter Maróti
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  5. Massimo Trotta
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Correspondence to Massimo Trotta.

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Asztalos, E., Italiano, F., Milano, F. et al. Early detection of mercury contamination by fluorescence induction of photosynthetic bacteria. Photochem Photobiol Sci 9, 1218–1223 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1039/c0pp00040j

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