Researchers have found a possible solution to reduce mercury's harmful impact on humans, according to a summary posted on ScienceDaily.
Scientists have long known that mercury, which is present in much of the seafood we eat, is dangerous. Yet despite efforts to reduce emissions, the neurotoxicant is still widespread, posing risks to both the people who eat seafood and the fish themselves.
Researchers from the University of California engineered a specific gut bacterium to detoxify mercury by inserting DNA-encoding detoxification enzymes into it. In their study, which was published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, they found that the engineered bacterium was "remarkably effective" at reducing mercury levels in mice.
It's a promising development considering how widespread mercury is. The pollutant enters water mostly through human activities, like burning coal or smelting metals. In the ocean, it transforms into the toxic methylmercury, which is what ends up in our food.
Another aspect of the threat is the fact that methylmercury biomagnifies. This means that any methylmercury that is present in one plant or animal will continue to accumulate, and be passed along, in whatever animal consumes that plant or prey next. Humans, being at the top of this food chain, therefore consume the highest quantities of the neurotoxicant.
Mercury pollution has been linked to an array of negative health impacts, which can vary from respiratory issues and rashes in the short term to brain damage, personality changes, tremors, and nervous system issues in the long term, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Developing fetuses and young children are particularly vulnerable to these effects.
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When using the engineered gut bacteria on mice, researchers found a significant reduction in mercury levels both immediately after consumption and in the several days following. Through the use of an engineered probiotic, even fish with high mercury levels could now become a much safer food source in the future.
And remarkably, the results held true in pregnant mice as well; not only were the methylmercury levels in the maternal tissues but in the fetal tissues as well, including the fetal brain.
"By reducing dietary methylmercury in the intestine, the gut bacteria helped to eliminate it from the body before it could enter the maternal bloodstream and access the developing offspring," study first author and University of California, Los Angeles research scientist Kristie Yu said, per the .
The team is currently working on improving the bacteria's efficacy and translating it for use in the human biome.
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Definitely 😭 Co-senior author and Scripps associate professor of marine biogeochemistry, Amina Schartup, emphasized the importance of continuing their work.
"Despite global efforts to reduce mercury emissions and its accumulation in fish, methylmercury levels in seafood are not expected to decline anytime soon," she said. "Fish remains a major and culturally important part of the diet for many people around the world and we hope it continues to be."
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