{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,22]],"date-time":"2026-09-22T04:37:39Z","timestamp":1790051859638,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":59,"publisher":"American Society for Microbiology","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2018,1,15]],"date-time":"2018-01-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1515974400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/non-commercial-tdm-license"}],"funder":[{"name":"Becas Chile"},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000001","name":"National Science Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["PLR-1304773"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PLR-1304773"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000001","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.asm.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Appl Environ Microbiol"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2018,1,15]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    Mercury (Hg), one of the most toxic and widely distributed heavy metals, has a high affinity for thiol groups. Thiol groups reduce and sequester Hg. Therefore, low-molecular-weight (LMW) and protein thiols may be important cell components used in Hg resistance. To date, the role of low-molecular-weight thiols in Hg detoxification remains understudied. The mercury resistance (\n                    <jats:italic>mer<\/jats:italic>\n                    ) operon of\n                    <jats:named-content content-type=\"genus-species\">Thermus thermophilus<\/jats:named-content>\n                    suggests an evolutionary link between Hg(II) resistance and low-molecular-weight thiol metabolism. The\n                    <jats:italic>mer<\/jats:italic>\n                    operon encodes an enzyme involved in methionine biosynthesis, Oah. Challenge with Hg(II) resulted in increased expression of genes involved in the biosynthesis of multiple low-molecular-weight thiols (cysteine, homocysteine, and bacillithiol), as well as the thioredoxin system. Phenotypic analysis of gene replacement mutants indicated that Oah contributes to Hg resistance under sulfur-limiting conditions, and strains lacking bacillithiol and\/or thioredoxins are more sensitive to Hg(II) than the wild type. Growth in the presence of either a thiol-oxidizing agent or a thiol-alkylating agent increased sensitivity to Hg(II). Furthermore, exposure to 3 \u03bcM Hg(II) consumed all intracellular reduced bacillithiol and cysteine. Database searches indicate that\n                    <jats:italic>oah2<\/jats:italic>\n                    is present in all\n                    <jats:named-content content-type=\"genus-species\">Thermus<\/jats:named-content>\n                    sp.\n                    <jats:italic>mer<\/jats:italic>\n                    operons. The presence of a thiol-related gene was also detected in some alphaproteobacterial\n                    <jats:italic>mer<\/jats:italic>\n                    operons, in which a glutathione reductase gene was present, supporting the role of thiols in Hg(II) detoxification. These results have led to a working model in which LMW thiols act as Hg(II)-buffering agents while Hg is reduced by MerA.\n                  <\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    <jats:bold>IMPORTANCE<\/jats:bold>\n                    The survival of microorganisms in the presence of toxic metals is central to life's sustainability. The affinity of thiol groups for toxic heavy metals drives microbe-metal interactions and modulates metal toxicity. Mercury detoxification (\n                    <jats:italic>mer<\/jats:italic>\n                    ) genes likely originated early in microbial evolution in geothermal environments. Little is known about how\n                    <jats:italic>mer<\/jats:italic>\n                    systems interact with cellular thiol systems.\n                    <jats:named-content content-type=\"genus-species\">Thermus<\/jats:named-content>\n                    spp. possess a simple\n                    <jats:italic>mer<\/jats:italic>\n                    operon in which a low-molecular-weight thiol biosynthesis gene is present, along with\n                    <jats:italic>merR<\/jats:italic>\n                    and\n                    <jats:italic>merA<\/jats:italic>\n                    . In this study, we present experimental evidence for the role of thiol systems in mercury resistance. Our data suggest that, in\n                    <jats:named-content content-type=\"genus-species\">T. thermophilus<\/jats:named-content>\n                    , thiolated compounds may function side by side with\n                    <jats:italic>mer<\/jats:italic>\n                    genes to detoxify mercury. Thus, thiol systems function in consort with\n                    <jats:italic>mer<\/jats:italic>\n                    -mediated resistance to mercury, suggesting exciting new questions for future research.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1128\/aem.01931-17","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,11,17]],"date-time":"2017-11-17T11:20:31Z","timestamp":1510917631000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1128\/asmj-crossmark-policy-page","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":38,"title":["Low-Molecular-Weight Thiols and Thioredoxins Are Important Players in Hg(II) Resistance in Thermus thermophilus HB27"],"prefix":"10.1128","volume":"84","author":[{"given":"J.","family":"Norambuena","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Y.","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"T.","family":"Hanson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Marine Science and Policy, Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA"},{"name":"Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"J. 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