The following excerpt comes from the article Microbial

Last updated: 10/15/2023

The following excerpt comes from the article Microbial Biodegradation of Toxic Waste Bioremediation by Sarah Moore News Medical Life Sciences May 17 2021 E Is this an example of in situ or ex situ bioremediation Interestingly while there are no other natural organisms that downgrade mercury there are several that transform it into a more dangerous substance known as methylmercury Often at industrial sites ionic or elemental mercury is discharged and converted into methylmercury by microbes which then accumulates in the environment and enters the food chain The genetically modified bacteria developed by the team at the Inter American University of Puerto Rico could address this issue by degrading the mercury discharged at such sites before it is converted into methylmercury To achieve this the team is developing a method of adding their modified bacteria into water filters at industrial sites to remove the mercury from the water before it enters the surrounding environment Ex situ In situ