Mercury Contamination - What We Have Learned Since Minamata

D'itra, Frank M.

doi:10.1007/978-94-011-2664-9_18

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Notwithstanding, the bioaccumulation of methylmercury (MeHg) via the food chain, especially through fish, concentrates mercury and poses serious toxicity hazards to the biosphere (Harada, 1995). For that reason, natural and anthropogenic emissions of mercury in the environment (Nriagu and Pacyna, 1988), its transportation and fate (Schroeder and Munthe, 1998;Boening, 2000), and its adverse effects on human health and the ecosystem (Ditri, 1991) have all attracted great attention as facets of a major environmental problem. Stack emissions from coal-combustion power industry includes both vapor and particle-bound phases.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling of atmospheric dispersion of mercury from coal–fired power plants in Japan

Razi

Moritomi

2012

Atmospheric Pollution Research

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The Air Quality Management Division of Ministry of the Environment in Japan selected the maximum level of annual mean air quality standard for mercury as 0.04 μg/m 3 . The yearly average atmospheric emissions of mercury from two nearly located point sources, background concentrations of mercury in the atmosphere and one-year meteorological data was used to predict the ambient concentrations of mercury at ground level by atmospheric dispersion modeling. To estimate the mercury concentration in the air of the local area, two different models have been used. The first one is AIST-ADMER model that estimates regional atmospheric distribution of mercury concentration. The second one is METI-LIS model that estimates the atmospheric distribution of mercury concentration in the vicinity of industrial facilities. The annual mean concentration of mercury in the atmosphere was calculated for the central Honshu Island of Japan using the AIST-ADMER model, which served as a background data for the METI-LIS model to calculate atmospheric mercury concentration in the vicinity of industrial facilities. Maximum annual mean atmospheric concentrations of mercury in the vicinity of the two hypothetical coal-fired power plants were calculated as 0.0118 μg/m 3 that was lower than the Japanese annual mean air quality standard for mercury.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling of atmospheric dispersion of mercury from coal–fired power plants in Japan

Razi

Moritomi

2012

Atmospheric Pollution Research

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“…Inorganic mercury compounds enter water bodies (rivers, lakes, oceans) by different pathways and undergo a process of methylation. Methyl mercury has a high affinity for protein sulfhydryl groups and accumulates in organisms and is enriched along the food chain (D'Itri, 1991;Fergusson, 1990). Poisoning episodes in Japan in the 1950s demonstrated irreversible neurological damage and teratogenic effects (Leonard et al, 1983;De Flora et al, 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury Levels along the Food Chain and Risk for Exposed Populations

Renzoni

Zino

Franchi

1998

Environmental Research

747

282

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“…1,7 High levels of MeHg have been found in several species of freshwater fish in different areas around the world, and human consumption of seafood contaminated with MeHg represents a serious health hazard leading to toxic exposure such as the tragedy at Minamata, Japan. 8,9 The main target for MeHg toxicity in humans is generally considered to be the nervous system. 1,7 More than 50 years ago, research groups noticed that select strains of bacteria had the capacity to grow in environments contaminated with high concentrations of either Hg(II) or MeHg.…”

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confidence: 99%

Structural and Biochemical Characterization of a Copper-Binding Mutant of the Organomercurial Lyase MerB: Insight into the Key Role of the Active Site Aspartic Acid in Hg–Carbon Bond Cleavage and Metal Binding Specificity

Wahba

Lecoq²,

Stevenson

et al. 2016

Biochemistry

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In bacterial resistance to mercury, the organomercurial lyase (MerB) plays a key role in the detoxification pathway through its ability to cleave Hg-carbon bonds. Two cysteines (C96 and C159; Escherichia coli MerB numbering) and an aspartic acid (D99) have been identified as the key catalytic residues, and these three residues are conserved in all but four known MerB variants, where the aspartic acid is replaced with a serine. To understand the role of the active site serine, we characterized the structure and metal binding properties of an E. coli MerB mutant with a serine substituted for D99 (MerB D99S) as well as one of the native MerB variants containing a serine residue in the active site (Bacillus megaterium MerB2). Surprisingly, the MerB D99S protein copurified with a bound metal that was determined to be Cu(II) from UV-vis absorption, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, and electron paramagnetic resonance studies. X-ray structural studies revealed that the Cu(II) is bound to the active site cysteine residues of MerB D99S, but that it is displaced following the addition of either an organomercurial substrate or an ionic mercury product. In contrast, the B. megaterium MerB2 protein does not copurify with copper, but the structure of the B. megaterium MerB2-Hg complex is highly similar to the structure of the MerB D99S-Hg complexes. These results demonstrate that the active site aspartic acid is crucial for both the enzymatic activity and metal binding specificity of MerB proteins and suggest a possible functional relationship between MerB and its only known structural homologue, the copper-binding protein NosL.

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Mercury Contamination - What We Have Learned Since Minamata

Cited by 8 publications

References 53 publications

Modeling of atmospheric dispersion of mercury from coal–fired power plants in Japan

Modeling of atmospheric dispersion of mercury from coal–fired power plants in Japan

Mercury Levels along the Food Chain and Risk for Exposed Populations

Structural and Biochemical Characterization of a Copper-Binding Mutant of the Organomercurial Lyase MerB: Insight into the Key Role of the Active Site Aspartic Acid in Hg–Carbon Bond Cleavage and Metal Binding Specificity

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