Distinct toxicological characteristics and mechanisms of Hg and MeHg in Tetrahymena under low concentration exposure.

Inorganic divalent mercury complexes (Hg) and monomethylmercury complexes (MeHg) are the main mercury species in aquatic systems and their toxicity to aquatic organisms is of great concern. Tetrahymena is a type of unicellular eukaryotic protozoa located at the bottom of food chain that plays a fundamental role in the biomagnification of mercury. In this work, the dynamic accumulation properties, toxicological characteristics and mechanisms of Hg and MeHg in five Tetrahymena species were evaluated in detail.