Progress in the study of mercury methylation and demethylation in aquatic environments

Li, Yanbin; Cai, Yong

doi:10.1007/s11434-012-5416-4

Cited by 68 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 134 publications

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“…Factors that influence HgII methylation and MeHg bioavailability are important controls in MeHg bioaccumulation in aquatic organisms (Wiener 2010;Li and Cai 2013;Hsu-Kim et al 2013;Paranjape and Hall 2017). We explored water chemistry and physical parameters that are often useful in explaining the variation of MeHg and THg in whole water (such as DOC, pH, total anion concentrations; see Methods section for complete list), and thus Hg in aquatic animals, using PCA (Fig.…”

Section: Differences In Thg In Tadpoles In Different Pondsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survey of mercury in boreal chorus frog (Pseudacris maculata) and wood frog (Rana sylvatica) tadpoles from wetland ponds in the Prairie Pothole Region of Canada

Boczulak

Vanderwel

Hall

2017

FACETS

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Tadpoles are important prey items for many aquatic organisms and often represent the largest vertebrate biomass in many fishless wetland ecosystems. Neurotoxic mercury (Hg) can, at elevated levels, decrease growth, lower survival, and cause developmental instability in amphibians. We compared total Hg (THg) body burden and concentration in boreal chorus frog (Pseudacris maculata) and wood frog (Rana sylvatica) tadpoles. Overall, body burden and concentration were lower in boreal chorus frog tadpoles than wood frog tadpoles, as expected, because boreal chorus frog tadpoles consume at lower trophic levels. The variables species, stage, and mass explained 21% of total variation for body burden in our models but had negligible predictive ability for THg concentration. The vast majority of the remaining variation in both body burden and THg concentration was attributable to differences among ponds; tadpoles from ponds in three areas had considerably higher THg body burden and concentration. The pond-to-pond differences were not related to any water chemistry or physical parameter measured, and we assumed that differences in wetland geomorphology likely played an important role in determining Hg levels in tadpoles. This is the first report of Hg in frog tadpoles in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America.

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Section: Differences In Thg In Tadpoles In Different Pondsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survey of mercury in boreal chorus frog (Pseudacris maculata) and wood frog (Rana sylvatica) tadpoles from wetland ponds in the Prairie Pothole Region of Canada

Boczulak

Vanderwel

Hall

2017

FACETS

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“…Although there have been several recent studies that focused on contaminated sites (Duran et al 2008;Gray and Hines 2009;Huguet et al 2010;Avramescu et al 2011;Hines et al 2012;Marvin-DiPasquale et al 2014;Windham-Myers et al 2014a, 2014b, 2014cEckley et al 2015;Figueiredo et al 2016;Liu et al 2016), these are beyond the scope of this paper; this review focuses exclusively on non-polluted aquatic systems. Recent reviews regarding both Hg methylation and demethylation focused on assessing the bioavailability of particular Hg species and the use of stable isotope techniques in methylation studies (Li and Cai 2013), the molecular mechanisms of mercury uptake and methylation (Hsu-Kim et al 2013b), and Hg cycling in Arctic (Douglas et al 2012;Braune et al 2015) and coastal marine and estuarine (Merritt and Amirbahman 2009) systems. In contrast, our review focuses on advances in the study of biotic methylation, the diverse aquatic environments in which methylation has been identified, and the advancement of understanding abiotic conditions favourable to microbial methylation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent advances in the study of mercury methylation in aquatic systems

Paranjape

Hall

2017

FACETS

117

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With increasing input of neurotoxic mercury to environments as a result of anthropogenic activity, it has become imperative to examine how mercury may enter biotic systems through its methylation to bioavailable forms in aquatic environments. Recent development of stable isotope-based methods in methylation studies has enabled a better understanding of the factors controlling methylation in aquatic systems. In addition, the identification and tracking of the hgcAB gene cluster, which is necessary for methylation, has broadened the range of known methylators and methylation-conducive environments. Study of abiotic factors in methylation with new molecular methods (the use of stable isotopes and genomic methods) has helped elucidate the confounding influences of many environmental factors, as these methods enable the examination of their direct effects instead of merely correlative observations. Such developments will be helpful in the finer characterization of mercury biogeochemical cycles, which will enable better predictions of the potential effects of climate change on mercury methylation in aquatic systems and, by extension, the threat this may pose to biota.

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“…For the purposes of describing the overall temporal trends in calls about mercury, there is a substantive rationale for simplifying all kinds of mercury exposure as “mercury”: mercury in the environment can gain or lose a methyl group (Celo et al, 2006; Choi and Bartha, 1994; Li and Cai, 2013) and mercury can also change methylation state in the gut and body (Parajuli et al, 2016; Rothenberg et al, 2016; Sherman et al, 2013). Furthermore, on a practical level, there may be inconsistencies in how calls about specific mercury species were recorded by poison control center specialists, so collapsing into a single category of mercury should reduce misclassification of the number of calls.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Calls to Florida Poison Control Centers about mercury: Trends over 2003–2013

Gribble

Deshpande

Stephan

et al. 2017

Environmental Research

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Objective The aim of this analysis was to contrast trends in exposure-report calls and informational queries (a measure of public interest) about mercury to the Florida Poison Control Centers over 2003–2013. Materials and Methods Poison-control specialists coded calls to Florida Poison Control Centers by substance of concern, caller demographics, and whether the call pertained to an exposure event or was an informational query. For the present study, call records regarding mercury were de-identified and provided along with daily total number of calls for statistical analysis. We fit Poisson models using generalized estimating equations to summarize changes across years in counts of daily calls to Florida Poison Control Centers, adjusting for month. In a second stage of analysis, we further adjusted for the total number of calls each day. We also conducted analyses stratified by age of the exposed. Results There was an overall decrease over 2003–2013 in the number of total calls about mercury [Ratio per year: 0.89, 95% CI: (0.88, 0.90)], and calls about mercury exposure [Ratio per year: 0.84, 95% CI: (0.83, 0.85)], but the number of informational queries about mercury increased over this time [Ratio per year: 1.15 (95% CI: 1.12, 1.18)]. After adjusting for the number of calls of that type each day (e.g., call volume), the associations remained similar: a ratio of 0.88 (95% CI: 0.87, 0.89) per year for total calls, 0.85 (0.83, 0.86) for exposure-related calls, and 1.17 (1.14, 1.21) for informational queries. Conclusion Although, the number of exposure-related calls decreased, informational queries increased over 2003–2013. This might suggest an increased public interest in mercury health risks despite a decrease in reported exposures over this time period.

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Progress in the study of mercury methylation and demethylation in aquatic environments

Cited by 68 publications

References 134 publications

Survey of mercury in boreal chorus frog (Pseudacris maculata) and wood frog (Rana sylvatica) tadpoles from wetland ponds in the Prairie Pothole Region of Canada

Survey of mercury in boreal chorus frog (Pseudacris maculata) and wood frog (Rana sylvatica) tadpoles from wetland ponds in the Prairie Pothole Region of Canada

Recent advances in the study of mercury methylation in aquatic systems

Calls to Florida Poison Control Centers about mercury: Trends over 2003–2013

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