The DOI matches its Crossref record; 295 of the 295 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Bacterial mercury resistance from atoms to ecosystems
Open accessAbstract
Bacterial resistance to inorganic and organic mercury compounds (HgR) is one of the most widely observed phenotypes in eubacteria. Loci conferring HgR in Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria typically have at minimum a mercuric reductase enzyme (MerA) that reduces reactive ionic Hg(II) to volatile, relatively inert, monoatomic Hg(0) vapor and a membrane-bound protein (MerT) for uptake of Hg(II) arranged in an operon under control of MerR, a novel metal-responsive regulator. Many HgR loci encode an additional enzyme, MerB, that degrades organomercurials by protonolysis, and one or more additional proteins apparently involved in transport. Genes conferring HgR occur on chromosomes, plasmids, and transposons and their operon arrangements can be quite diverse, frequently involving duplications of the above noted structural genes, several of which are modular themselves. How this very mobile and plastic suite of proteins protects host cells from this pervasive toxic metal, what roles it has in the biogeochemical cycling of Hg, and how it has been employed in ameliorating environmental contamination are the subjects of this review.
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“Here, Hg(II) is transported into the cell via the MerT transporter protein, and detoxi¢ed by reduction to relatively nontoxic volatile elemental mercury by an intracellular mercuric reductase (MerA).”
From Microbial reduction of metals and radionuclides (2003) · cites this paper as [5]
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“bacterial cells exposed to Hg2+ sense this metal and mount a transcriptional response within minutes.209”
From Metals in Motion: Understanding Labile Metal Pools in Bacteria (2025) · cites this paper as [209]
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“Despite this extremely high affinity, Hg2+ is surprisingly mobile”
From Metals in Motion: Understanding Labile Metal Pools in Bacteria (2025) · cites this paper as [209]
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Bacterial silver resistance: molecular biology and uses and misuses of silver compounds
Silver, S. (2003) · FEMS Microbiology Reviews · doi:10.1016/s0168-6445(03)00047-0 · Cited by 1,312
Microbial reduction of metals and radionuclides
Lloyd, J. R. (2003) · FEMS Microbiology Reviews · doi:10.1016/s0168-6445(03)00044-5 · Cited by 654
Metals in Motion: Understanding Labile Metal Pools in Bacteria
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Metadata
- Authors
- Barkay, T., Miller, S. M., & Summers, A. O.
- Affiliations
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- University of Georgia (US)
- Corresponding author
- Summers, Anne O.
- Venue
- FEMS Microbiology Reviews
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2003-06
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 2-3
- Pages
- 355-384
- ISSN
- 0168-6445 (ISSN-L)
- 1574-6976
- OpenAlex
- W2161714667
- Cited by
- 1,054
- References
- 295
- Citations by year
- 2026: 31 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 47 · 2023: 44 · 2022: 56 · 2021: 58 · 2020: 44 · 2019: 63 · 2018: 43 · 2017: 50 · 2016: 53 · 2015: 55 · 2014: 55 · 2013: 69 · 2012: 57
- FWCI
- 3.87
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- FEMS Microbiology Reviews (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Rutgers University Community Repository (Rutgers University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Mercury impact and mitigation studies
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Microbial metabolism and enzyme function
- Keywords
- mercuric reductase, MERA, MerB, MerR, MERT, plasmids, transposable elements, gene duplication, mercury cycling, mercury contamination
- MeSH terms
- Amino Acid Sequence, Genes, Bacterial, Gram-Negative Bacteria, Industrial Waste, Mercury, Models, Biological, Models, Genetic, Molecular Sequence Data, Oxidoreductases, Sequence Alignment, Ion Transport, Mercury Compounds, Ecosystem, Drug Resistance, Bacterial
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