Stimulative Vaporization of Phenyl-mercuric Acetate by Mercury-resistant Bacteria

Tonomura, Kenzo; Maeda, Kazuho; Futai, Fusae; Nakagami, Tatsuyoshi; Yamada, Masa-oki

doi:10.1038/217644b0

Cited by 65 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Whether or not these conversions of Hg to the methyl derivative have any role in Hg tolerance in plants is not known. Some bacteria achieve Hg tolerance by forming phenyl mercury acetate which is lost to the environment by volatilisation (TONOMURA et al 1968) but there is no evidence of a similar system in higher plants.…”

Section: Mercury Tolerancementioning

confidence: 97%

Toxicity and Tolerance in the Responses of Plants to Metals

Woolhouse¹

1983

Physiological Plant Ecology III

300

195

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Section: Mercury Tolerancementioning

confidence: 97%

Toxicity and Tolerance in the Responses of Plants to Metals

Woolhouse¹

1983

Physiological Plant Ecology III

300

195

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“…In many bacteria, resistance to mercury is associated with a plasmid (7,8,13,14,16,17,19). Generally, microorganisms have been shown to detoxify mercurial compounds metabolically by forming either volatile mercury derivatives (1,12,16,19,22) or mercury mercaptides (5,15,18,25). There are also many bacteria that are resistant to other metallic ions such as cadmium, arsenate, lead, zinc, cobalt, and nickel (8-10, 13, 17).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury Resistance and R Plasmids in Escherichia coli Isolated from Clinical Lesions in Japan

Nakahara¹,

Ishikawa²,

Sarai³

et al. 1977

Antimicrob Agents Chemother

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The mercury and antibiotic resistance of 338 strains of Escherichia coli isolated from hospital patients was determined. Resistance to mercury was found in 58.6% of the isolates. The frequencies of resistance to streptomycin (Sm), tetracycline (Tc), chloramphenicol (Cm), kanamycin (Kan), cephaloridine (Cer), and gentamicin (Gm) were 66.3,60.3, 56.5, 42.9, 32.1, and 1.5%, respectively. Among the above, 198 mercury-and antibiotic-resistant isolates were selected and tested for their ability to transfer the resistance to susceptible strains of E. coli K-12 and Klebsiella pneumoniae JK5. R plasmids carrying mercury resistance were demonstrated in 89.9% of the mercury-resistant strains of E. coli. Furthermore, R(Hg,Sm,Tc,Cm) plasmids were demonstrated most frequently, followed by R(Hg,Sm,Tc,Cm,Kan), R(Hg,Cm,Kan), and R(Hg,Sm,-Tc,Cm,Kan,Cer) plasmids.Resistance of bacteria to mercury has been described by several authors from the viewpoints of morphology (23), genetics, and biochemistry. In many bacteria, resistance to mercury is associated with a plasmid (7,8,13,14,16,17,19). Generally, microorganisms have been shown to detoxify mercurial compounds metabolically by forming either volatile mercury derivatives (1,12,16,19,22) or mercury mercaptides (5,15,18,25). There are also many bacteria that are resistant to other metallic ions such as cadmium, arsenate, lead, zinc, cobalt, and nickel (8-10, 13, 17).It is of interest that resistance to these metals is mediated by the same plasmid that determines resistance to antibiotics. Also, most of these metals have recently been listed as established or possible causes of environmental pollution. For example, methyl mercury is known to cause Minamata disease (6,20), and cadmium is the causative agent of Itai-Itai disease in Japan.The role of R plasmids in drug resistance has been widely studied (2-4, 11, 21, 24), and extrachromosomal determinants are a main cause of the increase in numbers of drug-resistant bacteria. However, the factors selecting for these metal-resistant bacteria have not yet been identified. We believe that metal-resistant microorganisms do not arise by chance, but that there must be selection factors beyond mere drug resistance. One of these selection factors may be environmental contamination by these heavy metals.We previously investigated the distribution of the resistance to several metallic ions such as Hg, Cd, As, and Pb among 415 strains ofStaphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) isolated from hospital patients (9). Recently, we also demonstrated 198 R plasmids with Hg resistance in Escherichia coli isolated from clinical specimens. This paper deals with the genetic properties of these R plasmids carrying Hg resistance. MATERIALS AND METHODSBacterial strains. A total of 338 strains of E. coli were isolated from the Clinical Laboratory of The Jikei University Hospital and tested for their resistance to mercury and six antibiotics. Mating experiments were carried out with a total of 198 Hg-and antibiotic-resistant strains as donors to examine the presence of...

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“…Conversely, the nitrate salts of mercury are more soluble and therefore, available for the methylation process. The levels of methyl mercury present in sediments may be a reflection of net methylation rather than specific methylation rates (21) due to the fact that methyl mercury is subject to microbial demethylation (26)(27)(28)(29) . Combined methylation and demethylation could have contributed to the low levels of mercury recovered in the present study.…”

Section: Arsenic Methylationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of ph on the methylation of mercury and arsenic by sediment microorganisms

Baker

Inniss

Mayfield

et al. 1983

Environmental Technology Letters

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1983) Effect of ph on the methylation of mercury and arsenic by sediment microorganisms, Environmental Technology Letters, 4:2, 89-100, ABSTRACTThe effect of pH on the methylation of mercury and arsenic in lake sediment amended with nutrients was examined. The formation of methyl mercury from inorganic mercuric chloride occurred only in the pH range of 5.5-6.5. Dimethyl mercury was not produced. Mercury methylation in this narrow pH range was probably the result of a microbial population which had adapted to the in situ pH of 5.8. The levels of methyl mercury were reduced in the presence of sulfuric acid, probably due to sulfide formation. In the arsenic methylation experiments, volatile arsine or methyl arsines were rarely detected. Analysis of the culture fluid revealed that methyl arsonic acid and dimethyl arsinlcacid were formed over the pH range of 3.5 to 7.5.In contrast to the mercury methylation experiments, the arsenic methylating microorganisms were not as sensitive to changes in pH and different microorganisms may have been responsible for methylating arsenic over this pH range.

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Stimulative Vaporization of Phenyl-mercuric Acetate by Mercury-resistant Bacteria

Cited by 65 publications

References 3 publications

Toxicity and Tolerance in the Responses of Plants to Metals

Toxicity and Tolerance in the Responses of Plants to Metals

Mercury Resistance and R Plasmids in Escherichia coli Isolated from Clinical Lesions in Japan

Effect of ph on the methylation of mercury and arsenic by sediment microorganisms

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