title: Microbial availability of mercury: effective detection and organic ligand effect using a whole-cell bioluminescent bioreporter.
abstract: A luxCDABE-based genetically engineered bacterial bioreporter (Escherichia coli ARL1) was used to detect bioavailable ionic mercury (Hg(II)) and investigate the effects of humic acids and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) on the bioavailability of mercury in E. c oli. Results showed that the E. c oli ARL1 bioreporter was sensitive to mercury, with a detection limit of Hg(II) of 0.5 µg/L and a linear dose/response relationship up to 2000 µg Hg(II)/L. Humic acids and EDTA decreased the Hg(II)-induced bioluminescent response of strain ARL1, suggesting that the two organic ligands reduced the bioavailability of Hg(II) via complexation with Hg(II). Compared with traditional chemical methods, the use of E. c oli ARL1 is a cost-effective, rapid, and reliable approach for measuring aqueous mercury at very low concentrations and thus has potential for applications in field in situ monitoring.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Agricultural Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China.|The Center for Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA.
authors.forename: Xianghua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: The Center for Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oliff
authors.affiliation: The Center for Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA.
authors.forename: Tingting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: The Center for Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ripp
authors.affiliation: The Center for Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA.
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sayler
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pollution Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China. zhuangjie@iae.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhuang
mesh_terms: D001682:Biological Availability; D004492:Edetic Acid / Q000032:analysis; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D006812:Humic Substances / Q000032:analysis; D008024:Ligands; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D008628:Mercury / Q000378:metabolism*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D006812:Humic Substances; D008024:Ligands; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D004492:Edetic Acid; D008628:Mercury
keywords: Bioavailability; Bioreporter; EDTA; Escherichia coli ARL1; Humic acids; Mercury