Mercury Circulation in Aquatic Bioconeses. Part 1: Mercury (II)-Metabolism in Phytoplankton

The metabolism of inorganic mercury has been studied in stationary cultures of planktonic algae Chlorella kessleri, Scenedesmus obliquus and Microcystis incerta that were exposed for 14 days to the concentration of 2 × 10^?7 M of Hg(II). Individual chemical forms of mercury were determined in algae and in the culture medium at regular intervals. All the studied phytoplankton species started to metabolize mercury immediately after its application, with the exception of the blue-green alga Microcystis incerta. The accumulation of mercury proceeds without interruption till the end of the experiment. After a 14 days cultivation about 60… 80% of added mercury was present in algal cells and the portion of mercury washable from the cell surface did not exceed 2%. It was found that more than 99,5% of mercury in cultivation medium and more than 99,5% of mercury in algae was present in the form of Hg(II). A transformation of inorganic mercury to methyl-, or phenyl-mercury due to the action of algae was not observed.