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Title: Contrary effects of phytoplankton Chlorella vulgaris and its exudates on mercury methylation by iron- and sulfate-reducing bacteria

Abstract

Mercury (Hg) is a pervasive environmental pollutant and poses serious health concerns as inorganic Hg(II) can be converted to the neurotoxin methylmercury (MeHg), which bioaccumulates and biomagnifies in food webs. Phytoplankton, representing the base of aquatic food webs, can take up Hg(II) and influence MeHg production, but currently little is known about how and to what extent phytoplankton may impact Hg(II) methylation by itself or by methylating bacteria it harbors. This study investigated whether some species of phytoplankton could produce MeHg and how the live or dead phytoplankton cells and excreted algal organic matter (AOM) impact Hg(II) methylation by several known methylators, including iron-reducing bacteria (FeRB), Geobacter anodireducens SD-1 and Geobacter sulfurreducens PCA, and the sulfate-reducing bacterium (SRB) Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ND132 (or Pseudodesulfovibrio mercurii). Here our results indicate that, among the 4 phytoplankton species studied, none were capable of methylating Hg(II). However, the presence of phytoplankton cells (either live or dead) from Chlorella vulgaris (CV) generally inhibited Hg(II) methylation by FeRB but substantially enhanced methylation by SRB D. desulfuricans ND132. Enhanced methylation was attributed in part to CV-excreted AOM, which increased Hg(II) complexation and methylation by ND132 cells. In contrast, inhibition of methylation by FeRB was attributed to these bacteriamore » incapable of competing with phytoplankton for Hg(II) binding and uptake. These observations suggest that phytoplankton could play different roles in affecting Hg(II) methylation by the two groups of anaerobic bacteria, FeRB and SRB, and thus shed additional light on how phytoplankton blooms may modulate MeHg production and bioaccumulation in the aquatic environment.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3]; ORCiD logo [3];  [3]; ORCiD logo [4]
  1. Shandong Jinan Eco-environmental Monitoring Center, Jinan (China); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Qilu University of Technology, (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan (China)
  3. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  4. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province, China
OSTI Identifier:
1866695
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1861908
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC05-00OR22725; 41671485; ZR2017MD008
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Hazardous Materials
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 433; Journal ID: ISSN 0304-3894
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; methylmecury; geobacter sulfurreducens PCA; desulfovibrio desulfuricans ND132; algae chlorella vulgaris

Citation Formats

Yin, Xixiang, Wang, Lihong, Liang, Xujun, Zhang, Lijie, Zhao, Jiating, and Gu, Baohua. Contrary effects of phytoplankton Chlorella vulgaris and its exudates on mercury methylation by iron- and sulfate-reducing bacteria. United States: N. p., 2022. Web. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128835.
Yin, Xixiang, Wang, Lihong, Liang, Xujun, Zhang, Lijie, Zhao, Jiating, & Gu, Baohua. Contrary effects of phytoplankton Chlorella vulgaris and its exudates on mercury methylation by iron- and sulfate-reducing bacteria. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128835
Yin, Xixiang, Wang, Lihong, Liang, Xujun, Zhang, Lijie, Zhao, Jiating, and Gu, Baohua. Fri . "Contrary effects of phytoplankton Chlorella vulgaris and its exudates on mercury methylation by iron- and sulfate-reducing bacteria". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128835. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1866695.
@article{osti_1866695,
title = {Contrary effects of phytoplankton Chlorella vulgaris and its exudates on mercury methylation by iron- and sulfate-reducing bacteria},
author = {Yin, Xixiang and Wang, Lihong and Liang, Xujun and Zhang, Lijie and Zhao, Jiating and Gu, Baohua},
abstractNote = {Mercury (Hg) is a pervasive environmental pollutant and poses serious health concerns as inorganic Hg(II) can be converted to the neurotoxin methylmercury (MeHg), which bioaccumulates and biomagnifies in food webs. Phytoplankton, representing the base of aquatic food webs, can take up Hg(II) and influence MeHg production, but currently little is known about how and to what extent phytoplankton may impact Hg(II) methylation by itself or by methylating bacteria it harbors. This study investigated whether some species of phytoplankton could produce MeHg and how the live or dead phytoplankton cells and excreted algal organic matter (AOM) impact Hg(II) methylation by several known methylators, including iron-reducing bacteria (FeRB), Geobacter anodireducens SD-1 and Geobacter sulfurreducens PCA, and the sulfate-reducing bacterium (SRB) Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ND132 (or Pseudodesulfovibrio mercurii). Here our results indicate that, among the 4 phytoplankton species studied, none were capable of methylating Hg(II). However, the presence of phytoplankton cells (either live or dead) from Chlorella vulgaris (CV) generally inhibited Hg(II) methylation by FeRB but substantially enhanced methylation by SRB D. desulfuricans ND132. Enhanced methylation was attributed in part to CV-excreted AOM, which increased Hg(II) complexation and methylation by ND132 cells. In contrast, inhibition of methylation by FeRB was attributed to these bacteria incapable of competing with phytoplankton for Hg(II) binding and uptake. These observations suggest that phytoplankton could play different roles in affecting Hg(II) methylation by the two groups of anaerobic bacteria, FeRB and SRB, and thus shed additional light on how phytoplankton blooms may modulate MeHg production and bioaccumulation in the aquatic environment.},
doi = {10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128835},
journal = {Journal of Hazardous Materials},
number = ,
volume = 433,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 EDT 2022},
month = {Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 EDT 2022}
}

Journal Article:

Figures / Tables:

Fig. 1 Fig. 1: (a) Methylmercury (MeHg) production by both dead and live cells of phytoplankton: Nostoc sp. PCC7120 (Nos), Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 (Syn), Microcystis sp. PCC7806 (Mc), and Chlorella vulgaris (CV) in BG11 medium after 72 h. Methylation assays were performed in the dark, and the added Hg(II) concentration was 25more » nM. (b) MeHg production by dead or live CV cells at varying Hg(II) concentrations (25, 50, and 100 nM). The final OD680 of phytoplankton was 0.1 (equivalent to ~1×106 cells mL‐1). Error bars represent one standard deviation of all replicate samples (n =4‐6), and dashed lines indicate the method detection limit.« less

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