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Experimental studies of mercury oxidation by anaerobic bacteria

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Title
Experimental studies of mercury oxidation by anaerobic bacteria
Name (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Colombo
NamePart (type = given)
Matthew Jordan
NamePart (type = date)
1987-
DisplayForm
Matthew Colombo
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB)
author
Name (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Yee
NamePart (type = given)
Nathan
DisplayForm
Nathan Yee
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB)
chair
Name (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Reinfelder
NamePart (type = given)
John
DisplayForm
John Reinfelder
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB)
internal member
Name (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Barkay
NamePart (type = given)
Tamar
DisplayForm
Tamar Barkay
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB)
internal member
Name (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Ha
NamePart (type = given)
Juyoung
DisplayForm
Juyoung Ha
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB)
outside member
Name (type = corporate)
NamePart
Rutgers University
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB)
degree grantor
Name (type = corporate)
NamePart
Graduate School - New Brunswick
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB)
school
TypeOfResource
Text
Genre (authority = marcgt)
theses
OriginInfo
DateCreated (qualifier = exact)
2013
DateOther (qualifier = exact); (type = degree)
2013-10
Place
PlaceTerm (type = code)
xx
Language
LanguageTerm (authority = ISO639-2b); (type = code)
eng
Abstract (type = abstract)
Mercury is a toxic element with complex biogeochemistry. Bacteria influence mercury fate and transport in the environment by contributing to mercury sorption, reduction, and methylation. While these biogeochemical reactions have been well studied, the role of bacteria in mercury oxidation is poorly understood. In this dissertation, the oxidation of elemental mercury by anaerobic bacteria is documented in detail. The oxidation and methylation of elemental mercury by Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ND132 is described in Chapter 2. Bulk chemical analyses, derivatization reactions, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy showed that D. desulfuricans ND132 oxidized elemental mercury to divalent mercury and produced methylmercury when provided with elemental mercury as its sole mercury source. X-ray absorption spectroscopy demonstrated that the majority of cell-associated mercury was oxidized and covalently bound to organic sulfur. This work reveals previously unrecognized mercury transformations by anaerobic bacteria that may be important in anoxic aquatic settings. Other phylogenetically and metabolically diverse anaerobic bacteria were then investigated for their mercury oxidation abilities in Chapter 3. Geothrix fermentans H5, Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, and Cupriavidus metallidurans AE104 all oxidized elemental mercury to divalent mercury. Heat-inactivation of the cells did not diminish mercury oxidation ability, indicating that the bacteria do not have to be metabolically active to oxidize mercury. X-ray absorption spectroscopy also revealed that oxidized mercury was bound to cellular thiol groups. The results of this study suggest that mercury oxidation may be widespread among bacteria and be mediated by a passive cellular mechanism. Chapter 4 presents preliminary data demonstrating the fractionation of mercury stable isotopes during microbial mercury oxidation, in which the light isotopes preferentially accumulate in the oxidized product. Fractionation appeared to be mass dependent since no odd isotope anomalies or deviations from theoretical fractionation laws were observed. The data, considered in light of past experimental and theoretical work, suggests that isotope fractionation was the result of a kinetic isotope effect. This study provides initial insight into isotope fractionation during mercury oxidation and guides future efforts to detect this reaction in the environment.
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
Environmental Sciences
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = RULIB)
ETD
Identifier
ETD_4964
PhysicalDescription
Form (authority = gmd)
electronic resource
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Extent
x, 123 p. : ill.
Note (type = degree)
Ph.D.
Note (type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references
Note (type = statement of responsibility)
by Matthew Jordan Colombo
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Mercury--Toxicology
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Mercury--Oxidation
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Anaerobic bacteria--Molecular aspects
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = local)
rucore19991600001
Location
PhysicalLocation (authority = marcorg); (displayLabel = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
NjNbRU
Identifier (type = doi)
doi:10.7282/T3QZ280B
Genre (authority = ExL-Esploro)
ETD doctoral
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Rights

RightsDeclaration (ID = rulibRdec0006)
The author owns the copyright to this work.
RightsHolder (type = personal)
Name
FamilyName
Colombo
GivenName
Matthew
Role
Copyright Holder
RightsEvent
Type
Permission or license
DateTime (encoding = w3cdtf); (qualifier = exact); (point = start)
2013-08-30 00:18:13
AssociatedEntity
Name
Matthew Colombo
Role
Copyright holder
Affiliation
Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
AssociatedObject
Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
RightsEvent
DateTime (encoding = w3cdtf); (qualifier = exact); (point = start)
2013-10-31
DateTime (encoding = w3cdtf); (qualifier = exact); (point = end)
2015-10-31
Type
Embargo
Detail
Access to this PDF has been restricted at the author's request. It will be publicly available after October 31st, 2015.
Copyright
Status
Copyright protected
Availability
Status
Open
Reason
Permission or license
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ContentModel
ETD
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windows xp
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