Mercury Resistant Bacteria: Eco-Friendly Way for Remediation

Abstract

Mercury is a heavy metal which is found naturally in the ecosystem in many different forms. Due to its highly toxic nature, its presence and increasing accumulation in the environment is of great concern. Methylmercury, an organic form of mercury, of all other forms act as global and serious problem for human as well as ecological health. Although all forms can be accumulated in the living organisms, but it has been observed that methylmercury can be taken up at a much faster rate as compared to others. This methylmercury has ill-effects on the human nervous system. It is also known to cause cancer, although it has not been proven yet. Mercury contamination has also been observed in aquatic ecosystem and it has disastrous results because its accumulation increases many fold in increasing level of the food chain. The adverse effect of mercury on the health holds in its ability of bioaccumulation and biomagnifications. The objective of this study was to isolate mercury-resistant bacteria and characterize them. These bacteria were characterized based on their morphological characters and biochemical tests conducted on them. Minimal Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC) was used to determine its bacterial susceptibility to Hg compounds.