<i>Nitrospina</i>
            -like Bacteria Are Dominant Potential Mercury Methylators in Both the Oyashio and Kuroshio Regions of the Western North Pacific

Tada, Yuya; Marumoto, Kohji; Takeuchi, Akinori

doi:10.1128/spectrum.00833-21

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Kagoshima Bay contains acidic seawater because of hydrothermal activity, which renders this region globally unique. , Previously, we observed that the mercury concentration of the seawater here is higher at greater depths owing to the development of a thermocline from August to October . It has also been suggested that nitrite-oxidizing bacteria present in seawater convert mercury to methylmercury . Methylmercury is highly toxic and bioaccumulative, and its accumulation in humans through the consumption of contaminated fish and shellfish causes Minamata disease.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 68%

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Sensitive Detection of Nitrite and Nitrate in Seawater by 222 nm UV-Irradiated Photochemical Conversion to Peroxynitrite and Ion Chromatography-Luminol Chemiluminescence System

Kodamatani

Kubo

Takeuchi

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Sensitive detection methods for nitrite (NO2 –) and nitrate (NO3 –) ions are essential to understand the nitrogen cycle and for environmental protection and public health. Herein, we report a detection method that combines ion-chromatographic separation of NO2 – and NO3 –, on-line photochemical conversion of these ions to peroxynitrite (ONOO–) by irradiation with a 222 nm excimer lamp, and chemiluminescence from the reaction between luminol and ONOO–. The detection limits for NO2 – and NO3 – were 0.01 and 0.03 μM, respectively, with linear ranges of 0.010–2.0 and 0.10–3.0 μM, respectively, at an injection volume of 1 μL. The results obtained by the proposed method for seawater analysis corresponded with those of a reference method (AutoAnalyzer based on the Griess reaction). As luminol chemiluminescence can measure ONOO– at picomolar concentrations, our method is expected to be able to detect NO2 – and NO3 – at picomolar concentrations owing to the high conversion ratio to ONOO– (>60%), assuming that contamination and background chemiluminescence issues can be resolved. This method has the potential to emerge as an innovative technology for NO2 – and NO3 – detection in various samples.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 68%

“…45 It has also been suggested that nitrite-oxidizing bacteria present in seawater convert mercury to methylmercury. 46 Methylmercury is highly toxic and bioaccumulative, and its accumulation in humans through the consumption of contaminated fish and shellfish causes Minamata disease. Therefore, understanding its behavior in seawater is important.…”

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confidence: 99%

Sensitive Detection of Nitrite and Nitrate in Seawater by 222 nm UV-Irradiated Photochemical Conversion to Peroxynitrite and Ion Chromatography-Luminol Chemiluminescence System

Kodamatani

Kubo

Takeuchi

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…The fused- hgcAB of Pyrococcus furiosus has been experimentally shown not to methylate Hg II (aq) ( Podar et al 2015 ), but the functionality of other fused- hgcAB genes, as well as other members of this clade, is yet to be confirmed. For example, Nitrospina -like hgcA sequences have been reported as the dominant hgcA homologs in many marine environments ( Gionfriddo et al 2016 ; Tada et al 2020 , 2021 ; Villar et al 2020 ). However, the functionality of these sequences has not yet been experimentally confirmed, as no known hgc + members of this genus are currently held in isolation.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Origin and Evolution of Microbial Mercury Methylation

Lin

Moody

Williams

et al. 2023

Genome Biology and Evolution

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The origin of microbial mercury methylation has long been a mystery. Here we employed genome-resolved phylogenetic analyses to decipher the evolution of the mercury methylating gene, hgcAB, constrain the ancestral origin of the hgc operon, and explain the distribution of hgc in Bacteria and Archaea. We infer the extent to which vertical inheritance and horizontal gene transfer have influenced the evolution of mercury methylators and hypothesize that evolution of this trait bestowed the ability to produce an antimicrobial compound (MeHg+) on a potentially resource-limited early Earth. We speculate that, in response, the evolution of MeHg + -detoxifying alkylmercury lyase (encoded by merB) reduced a selective advantage for mercury methylators and resulted in widespread loss of hgc in Bacteria and Archaea.

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“…The fused hgcAB of Pyrococcus furiosus has been experimentally shown not to methylate Hg II (aq) (Podar et al 2015), but the functionality of other fused- hgcAB genes, as well as other members of this clade, is yet to be confirmed. For example, Nitrospina-like hgcA sequences have been reported as the dominant hgcA homologs in many marine environments (Gionfriddo et al 2016; Tada et al 2020; Villar et al 2020; Tada et al 2021). However, the functionality of these sequences has not yet been experimentally confirmed, as no known hgc + members of this genus are currently held in isolation.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the origin and evolution of microbial mercury methylation

Lin

Moody

Williams

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The origin and evolution of microbial mercury methylation have long remained a mystery. Here we employed genome-resolved phylogenetic analyses to decipher the evolution of the mercury methylating genes hgcAB, to constrain the ancestral origin of the hgc operon, and to explain its current distribution across the bacterial and archaeal domains. We infer the extent to which vertical descent and horizontal gene transfer have influenced the evolution of this operon and hypothesize that the original function of methylmercury was as an antimicrobial compound on the early Earth. We speculate that subsequent evolution of the detoxifying agent alkylmercury lyase (merB) reduced the selective advantage of the mercury methylation activity, resulting in widespread loss of the hgcAB genes among archaea and bacteria.

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Nitrospina -like Bacteria Are Dominant Potential Mercury Methylators in Both the Oyashio and Kuroshio Regions of the Western North Pacific

Abstract: MeHg is highly neurotoxic and accumulates in marine organisms. Thus, understanding MeHg production in seawater is critical for environmental and human health.

Cited by 8 publications

References 47 publications

Sensitive Detection of Nitrite and Nitrate in Seawater by 222 nm UV-Irradiated Photochemical Conversion to Peroxynitrite and Ion Chromatography-Luminol Chemiluminescence System

Sensitive Detection of Nitrite and Nitrate in Seawater by 222 nm UV-Irradiated Photochemical Conversion to Peroxynitrite and Ion Chromatography-Luminol Chemiluminescence System

On the Origin and Evolution of Microbial Mercury Methylation

On the origin and evolution of microbial mercury methylation

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