title: Phytodetoxification of hazardous organomercurials by genetically engineered plants.
abstract: Methylmercury is a highly toxic, organic derivative found in mercury-polluted wetlands and coastal sediments worldwide. Though commonly present at low concentrations in the substrate, methylmercury can biomagnify to concentrations that poison predatory animals and humans. In the interest of developing an in situ detoxification strategy, a model plant system was transformed with bacterial genes (merA for mercuric reductase and merB for organomercurial lyase) for an organic mercury detoxification pathway. Arabidopsis thaliana plants expressing both genes grow on 50-fold higher methylmercury concentrations than wild-type plants and up to 10-fold higher concentrations than plants that express merB alone. An in vivo assay demonstrated that both transgenes are required for plants to detoxify organic mercury by converting it to volatile and much less toxic elemental mercury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-7223, USA.
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Bizily
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Rugh
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Meagher
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D004351:Drug Resistance; D004463:Ecology; D005740:Gases; D005818:Genetic Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000378:metabolism*; D008190:Lyases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008628:Mercury / Q000378:metabolism; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D008954:Models, Biological; D009941:Organomercury Compounds / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype; D010663:Phenylmercury Compounds / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000378:metabolism*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D005740:Gases; D015386:Hazardous Substances; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds; D009941:Organomercury Compounds; D010663:Phenylmercury Compounds; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D010088:Oxidoreductases; C021551:mercuric reductase; D008190:Lyases; C050953:alkylmercury lyase; D008628:Mercury