DOI: 10.1038/s41561-021-00735-y
论文题名: Microbial methylation potential of mercury sulfide particles dictated by surface structure
作者: Tian L. ; Guan W. ; Ji Y. ; He X. ; Chen W. ; Alvarez P.J.J. ; Zhang T.
刊名: Nature Geoscience
ISSN: 17520894
出版年: 2021
卷: 14, 期: 6 起始页码: 409
结束页码: 416
语种: 英语
英文关键词: crystal structure
; mercury (element)
; microbial activity
; nanoparticle
; natural attenuation
; persistence
; protein
; speciation (chemistry)
; sulfide
; toxicity
英文摘要: Environmental contamination by mercury in its organometallic form, methylmercury, remains a major global concern due to its neurotoxicity, environmental persistence and biomagnification through the food chain. Accurate prediction of mercury methylation cannot be achieved based on aqueous speciation alone, and there remains limited mechanistic understanding of microbial methylation of particulate-phase mercury. Here we assess the time-dependent changes in structural properties and methylation potential of nanoparticulate mercury using microscopic and spectroscopic analyses, microcosm bioassays and theoretical calculations. We show that the methylation potential of a mercury sulfide mineral ubiquitous in contaminated soils and sediments (nanoparticulate metacinnabar) is determined by its crystal structure. Methylmercury production increases when more of nano-metacinnabar’s exposed surfaces occur as the (111) facet, due to its large binding affinity to methylating bacteria, likely via the protein transporter responsible for mercury cellular uptake prior to methylation. During nanocrystal growth, the (111) facet diminishes, lessening methylation of nano-metacinnabar. However, natural ligands alleviate this process by preferentially adsorbing to the (111) facet, and consequently hinder natural attenuation of mercury methylation. We show that the methylation potential of nanoparticulate mercury is independent of surface area. Instead, the nano-scale surface structure of nanoparticulate mercury is crucial for understanding the environmental behaviour of mercury and other nutrient or toxic soft elements. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited. Citation statistics:
资源类型: 期刊论文
标识符: http://119.78.100.158/handle/2HF3EXSE/169822
Appears in Collections: 气候变化与战略
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作者单位: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, Nankai University, Tianjin, China; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, United States
Recommended Citation:
Tian L.,Guan W.,Ji Y.,et al. Microbial methylation potential of mercury sulfide particles dictated by surface structure[J]. Nature Geoscience,2021-01-01,14(6)