[Identification of a Facultative Bacterium Strain with the Ability to Methylate Mercury Under Both Aerobic and Anaerobic Conditions].

A strain with the ability to methylate mercury under both the aerobic and anaerobic conditions was isolated from soil of the water-level-fluctuation-zone in the Three Gorge Reservoir in Shibaozhai Village, Zhongxian Country, Chongqing, China (E108°12'3″ and N30°24'36″). The soil was classified as Purple soil with a pH of 7.97 (0-20 cm depth).

[Role of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria in Mercury Methylation in Soil of the Water-Level-Fluctuating Zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area].

Soil simulation experiments with or without addition of external mercury and a non-indigenous bacterium were conducted under laboratory conditions, in order to investigate whether sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) are the dominant mercury methylators in the water level fluctuation zone (WLFZ) of the Three Gorges Reservoir, which is a typical periodical wet and dry alternating environment, locating in the Shibaozai Xinzhen Village, Zhong County, Chongqing, China (E108°12'3″ and N30°24'36″). The original soil from the WLFZ was firstly sterilized and then inoculated with or without ( DSM-2603, commercially purchased from the Culture Preservation Center of Microorganisms in Germany, DSMZ) as the control (Test A). The sterilized soils were respectively mixed with 0, 1, or 5 mg·kg Hg soil under submerged and non-submerged conditions to simulate changes in the concentrations of total mercury, methylmercury and the growth of , and the effects of environmental factor on such changes.