Spangler W J, Spigarelli J L, Rose J M, Flippin R S, Miller H H
Appl Microbiol. 1973 Apr;25(4):488-93. doi: 10.1128/am.25.4.488-493.1973.
A total of 207 bacterial cultures, isolated from environmental samples, was screened for ability to degrade methylmercury. Of these, 30 were found positive for aerobic demethylation. Twenty-two of these were shown to be facultative anaerobes and 21 of these degraded methylmercury anaerobically. All positive species volatilized methylmercury aerobically, and methane was produced as a degradation product. Although methylmercury degradation was complete in most cases, material balances indicated some of the inorganic mercury formed was not volatilized and is presumed bound to the cells. All positive isolates were tolerant to at least 0.5 mug of methylmercury per ml, and the extent of volatilization of mercury increased with concentration to the threshold value. The results indicate that demethylating species are prevalent in the environment and may be important in suppressing the methylmercury content of sediments.
从环境样品中分离出总共207种细菌培养物，对其降解甲基汞的能力进行了筛选。其中，30种被发现对好氧去甲基化呈阳性。其中22种为兼性厌氧菌，其中21种在厌氧条件下降解甲基汞。所有阳性菌株在好氧条件下都会使甲基汞挥发，并产生甲烷作为降解产物。尽管在大多数情况下甲基汞降解是完全的，但物料平衡表明形成的一些无机汞没有挥发，推测是与细胞结合了。所有阳性分离株对每毫升至少0.5微克的甲基汞具有耐受性，汞的挥发程度随浓度增加至阈值。结果表明，去甲基化物种在环境中普遍存在，可能对抑制沉积物中的甲基汞含量很重要。
