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Analysis of mercuric reductase ( merA ) gene diversity in an anaerobic mercury‐contaminated sediment enrichment
Author(s) -
Ní Chadhain Sinéad M.,
Schaefer Jeffra K.,
Crane Sharron,
Zylstra Gerben J.,
Barkay Tamar
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2006.01114.x
Subject(s) - biology , mercury (programming language) , anaerobic exercise , contamination , mercury contamination , sediment , gene , environmental chemistry , ecology , genetics , physiology , chemistry , computer science , programming language , paleontology
Summary The reduction of ionic mercury to elemental mercury by the mercuric reductase (MerA) enzyme plays an important role in the biogeochemical cycling of mercury in contaminated environments by partitioning mercury to the atmosphere. This activity, common in aerobic environments, has rarely been examined in anoxic sediments where production of highly toxic methylmercury occurs. Novel degenerate PCR primers were developed which span the known diversity of merA genes in Gram‐negative bacteria and amplify a 285 bp fragment at the 3′ end of merA . These primers were used to create a clone library and to analyse merA diversity in an anaerobic sediment enrichment collected from a mercury‐contaminated site in the Meadowlands, New Jersey. A total of 174 sequences were analysed, representing 71 merA phylotypes and four novel MerA clades. This first examination of merA diversity in anoxic environments suggests an untapped resource for novel merA sequences.