title: Adaptation of aquatic microbial communities to pollutant stress.
abstract: The importance of microbial adaptation in the removal of environmental pollutants and in maintaining active microbial communities in impacted ecosystems is discussed using the biodegradation of p-nitrophenol and the volatilization of mercuric mercury as examples. A molecular mechanism of adaptation is suggested by enrichment of mercury resistance (mer) genes in some communities upon exposure to mercury.
authors.affiliation: US Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Research Laboratory, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Barkay
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pritchard
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D001711:Biotransformation; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008628:Mercury / Q000494:pharmacology; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D008628:Mercury