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MERCURY SEQUESTRATION IN CHL004 AND BACTERIA FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Citation:
DavisHoover*, W J. MERCURY SEQUESTRATION IN CHL004 AND BACTERIA FROM AROUND THE WORLD. Presented at Third International Conference, Monterey, CA, 5/20-23/2002.
Description:
Mercury is a particularly toxic heavy metal which because of it's volatility easily impacts the globe and is partially responsible for loss of the ozone layer and thus global warming. The soil isolate Pseudomonas aeruginosa CHL004 has been found to concentrate Pb2+ and perhaps other heavy metals in the cytoplasm by formation of particles that contain Pb2+ and phosphorus. Upon examination of many particles using x-ray diffraction, we have found that the product formed is pyromorphite. This suggests there must be a mechanism by which lead is actively transported into the cell. The specific objectives of our current research are to discover if CHL004 suquesters mercury, search for another bacteria from contaminated sites around the world that might sequester mercury and understand the mechanism of mercury transport to optimize conditions for uptake. The long-term goal of this project is to utilize this bacterium in a field study to determine the plausibility of utilizing mercury sequestration to remove mercury from contaminated soils. The results of our research efforts to date will be presented.