Ionic Strength Differentially Affects the Bioavailability of Neutral and Negatively Charged Inorganic Hg Complexes

Mercury (Hg) bioavailability to bacteria in marine systems is the first step toward its bioamplification in food webs. These systems exhibit high salinity and ionic strength that will both alter Hg speciation and properties of the bacteria cell walls. The role of Hg speciation on Hg bioavailability in marine systems has not been teased apart from that of ionic strength on cell wall properties, however. We developed and optimized a whole-cell Hg bioreporter capable of functioning under aerobic and anaerobic conditions and exhibiting no physiological limitations of signal production to changes in ionic strength. We show that ionic strength controls the bioavailability of Hg species, regardless of their charge, possibly by altering properties of the bacterial cell wall. The unexpected anaerobic bioavailability of negatively charged halocomplexes may help explain Hg methylation in marine systems such as the oxygen-deficient zone in the oceanic water column, sea ice or polar snow.