4 ms·
Organometallic mercury compounds are extremely toxic, so it seems the enzyme is converting the mercury to some inorganic salt with low bioavailability but yeah
by mint2 4y ago
Organometallic mercury compounds are extremely toxic, so it seems the enzyme is converting the mercury to some inorganic salt with low bioavailability but yeah it appears it becomes less bioavailable but not much else is stated. It’s not removed so I have the same question you do about the possibility of another natural reaction coming along and converting it back
- kurthr 4y agoMethyl Mercury is one of the most dangerous forms, because it is volatile and easily absorbed (while liquid metallic mercury is relatively benign). One possibility for the fungus is phenol compounds. They are commonly used by plants to inhibit fungus so the ability to excrete/them would be generically useful to a fungus. Also, mercury phenols are notably quite stable.
- pfdietz 4y agoAnd dimethyl mercury is even worse. There's a famous case of a chemist at Dartmouth who died horribly from a single droplet that permeated through a nitrile glove.
- pfdietz 4y agoLink: https://www.science.org/content/article/mercury-poisoning-kills-lab-chemist https://www.science.org/content/article/mercury-poisoning-ki...
- idontwantthis 4y agoIf it’s concentrated in the fungus instead of dispersed in the soil, that sounds easier to remove, process and store/recycle.
- Jolter 4y agoHave you ever tried to remove a fungus from soil? I think it would require machinery to dig up the whole field, process the soil and spit it out - which I think is no less expensive than using traditional chemical methods for binding the mercury in stable compounds.
- matkoniecz 4y ago> so I have the same question you do about the possibility of another natural reaction coming along and converting it back Was it outcome of that compound being eaten by fungus? (some process that resulted in energy extraction?) In such case reverse strategy is possible but less likely