title: Plasmid-encoded mercuric reductase in Mycobacterium scrofulaceum.
abstract: A Chesapeake Bay water isolate of Mycobacterium scrofulaceum containing a 115-megadalton plasmid (pVT1) grew in the presence of 100 microM HgCl2 and converted soluble 203Hg2+ to volatile mercury at a rate of 50 pmol/10(8) cells per min. Cell extracts contained a soluble mercuric reductase whose activity was not dependent on exogenously supplied thiol compounds. The enzyme displayed nearly identical activity when either NADH or NADPH served as the electron donor. A spontaneously cured derivative lacking pVT1 failed to grow in the presence of 100 microM HgCl2 and possessed no detectable mercuric reductase activity.
mesh_terms: D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007700:Kinetics; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics*; D010957:Plasmids
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D010088:Oxidoreductases; C021551:mercuric reductase