Research Starter Grant: Survey of Metal Resistant Bacteria from a Mercury Contaminated Site

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East Fork Poplar Creek near Oakridge, TN is a stream that was contaminated with mercury and other heavy metals from early production of nuclear weapons systems. Bacteria have been isolated from nearby soils contaminated with either higher (96) or lower (2 ppm) amounts of mercury. The specific goals of this project are to identify these different isolates by sequencing their 16S rDNA genes (a useful and determinative marker), measure their ability to grow in the presence of toxic concentrations of various metals, and identify any metal resistance genes that they may have that are similar to those found in a highly metal resistant bacterium (Stenotrophomonas maltophilia ORO2) that has been characterized previously from that area.This project will also involve research training opportunities for undergraduate students from Youngstown State University, as well as advanced high school students from the Youngstown Early College, a nearby high school. Many metal resistant bacteria detoxify their environment by precipitating or sequestering dissolved metals. These properties can be exploited for cleaning up metal contaminated water or for mining. Other metal resistant bacteria synthesize proteins that pump out toxic metals as they enter the cell. Some of these proteins, such as the ones involved in copper resistance in bacteria, are similar to the human proteins that process copper. Studying metal resistance proteins in bacteria may provide insights into the causes of some diseases, like Menkes and Wilson's disease, which are the result of deficient copper processing proteins in humans.