alleryStart learning →How do bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa help clear mercury pollution?
AThey bind mercury inside their capsules
BThey break mercury down into oxygen gas
CThey convert Hg+2 into nontoxic Hg0
DThey excrete mercury as a solid sulfide
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. They convert Hg+2 into nontoxic Hg0
1. Bioremediation uses microbial metabolism to remove pollutants.
2. Mercury is a toxic metal used in some pesticides and produced as a by-product of processes such as battery making.
3. Methyl mercury is highly toxic because it accumulates in living tissues.
4. Several bacterial species, Pseudomonas aeruginosa among them, convert Hg+2 into Hg0, which is nontoxic to humans.
5. Mercury is an element, so no organism can break it down into another gas.
_Source: OpenStax Biology (1st ed., CC BY 4.0), Ch 22 "Prokaryotes: Bacteria and Archaea", section 22.5 Beneficial Prokaryotes_
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