HR: 0800h
AN: B11B-0407    [Abstracts]
TI: Enzymatic catalysis of mercury methylation by planktonic and biofilm cultures of sulfate- reducing bacteria
AU: * Lin, C
EM: chuching@ucla.edu
AF: UCLA, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Los Angeles, CA 90095,
AU: Kampalath, R
EM: ritak@ucla.edu
AF: UCLA, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Los Angeles, CA 90095,
AU: Jay, J
EM: jjay@seas.ucla.edu
AF: UCLA, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Los Angeles, CA 90095,
AB: While biofilms are now known to be the predominant form of microbial growth in nature, little is known about their role in environmental mercury (Hg) methylation. Due to its long-range atmospheric transport, Hg contamination of food chains is a worldwide problem, impacting even pristine areas. Among different forms of mercury species, methylmercury (MeHg) is an extremely neurotoxic and biomagnification-prone compound that can lead to severely adverse health effects on wildlife and humans. Considerable studies have shown that in the aquatic environment the external supply of MeHg is not sufficient to account for MeHg accumulation in biota and in situ biological MeHg formation plays a critical role in determining the amount of MeHg in food webs; moreover, sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) has been identified as the principal Hg-methylating organisms in nature. In a wide range of aquatic systems wetlands are considered important sites for Hg methylation mostly because of the environmental factors that promote microbial activity within, and biofilms are especially important in wetland ecosystems due to large amount of submerged surfaces. Although recent work has focused on the environmental factors that control MeHg production and the conditions that affect the availability of inorganic Hg to SRB, much remains to be understood about the biochemical mechanism of the Hg methylation process in SRB, especially in the biofilm-growth of these microbes. Data from our previous study with SRB strains isolated from a coastal wetland suggested that the specific Hg methylation rate found was approximately an order of magnitude higher in biofilm cells than in planktonic cells. In order to investigate possible reasons for this observed difference, and to test if this phenomenon is observed in other strains, we conducted chloroform, fluroacetate and molybdate inhibition assays in both complete and incomplete-oxidizing SRB species (Desulfovibrio desulfuricans M8, Desulfococcus sp. Desulfobactor sp. BG8) grown in planktonic and biofilm form, as the acetyl- coenzyme A pathway involved with cobalamin has been hypothesized to be the pathway for Hg methylation. The purpose of this study was to probe whether differences in the enzymatically catalyzed process caused differential methylation rates between the species and also between the different forms of culture growth. Any attempts to control the environmentally undesirable Hg methylation process would benefit from a better understanding of the biochemical mechanism involved.
DE: 0412 Biogeochemical kinetics and reaction modeling (0414, 0793, 1615, 4805, 4912)
DE: 0414 Biogeochemical cycles, processes, and modeling (0412, 0793, 1615, 4805, 4912)
DE: 0422 Bio-optics
DE: 0489 Trace element cycling (4875)
DE: 0497 Wetlands (1890)
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting