Difference between revisions of "Part:BBa K1420000"

Revision as of 05:11, 17 October 2014

Mer operon, biological system found to detoxify organic and inorganic forms of mercury

converts organomercuric and cationic mercury to the less toxic volatile mercury.

Components of the mer operon

merR

merT

merP

merA

Mercury resistance gene merA encodes MerA, a mercuric ion reductase (cytosolic, flavin disulfide oxidoreductase), that is essential to bacterial mercury resistance. MerA catalyzes the reduction of mercuric ion released from protonlysis of organomercury (catalyzed by MerB) to the relative inert, volatile monoatomic mercury in a NADPH dependent reaction. (For more information on the merA gene, see part BBa_K1420001.)

merB

The merB gene is often found immediately downstream of merA, and is essential for the detoxification and bioremediation of organic toxic mercury compounds in congruence with merA. The merB protein is a lyase that catalyzes the breaking of carbon-mercury bonds through protonolysis of toxic mercury compounds, such as methylmercury. This produces the less toxic and less mobile Hg²⁺ which is then completely volatilized to Hg⁰ when acted upon the enzyme merA. (For more information on the merB gene, see part BBa_K1420002.)

Sequence and Features