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Updated: Aug 6, 2026

A Study of the Complexation of Mercury(II) with Dicysteinyl Tetrapeptides by Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry
Published on: January 8, 2016
Mechanisms of mercury bioremediation
A M M Essa1, L E Macaskie, N L Brown
1School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. AME846@bham.ac.uk
Abstract:
Mercury is one of the most toxic heavy metals, and has significant industrial and agricultural uses. These uses have led to severe localized mercury pollution. Mercury volatilization after its reduction to the metallic form by mercury-resistant bacteria has been reported as a mechanism for mercury bioremediation [Brunke, Deckwer, Frischmuth, Horn, Lunsdorf, Rhode, Rohricht, Timmis and Weppen (1993) FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 11, 145-152; von Canstein, Timmis, Deckwer and Wagner-Dobler (1999) Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65, 5279-5284]. The reduction/volatilization system requires to be studied further, in order to eliminate the escape of the metallic mercury into the environment. Recently we have demonstrated three different mechanisms for mercury detoxification in one organism, Klebsiella pneumoniae M426, which may increase the capture efficiency of mercury.
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