RT Journal Article
T1 The Role of Microalgae in the Biogeochemical Cycling of Methylmercury (MeHg) in Aquatic Environments
A1 Gojkovic, Živan
A1 Skrobonja, Aleksandra
A1 Funk, Christiane
A1 Garbayo Nores, Inés
A1 Vílchez Lobato, Carlos
AB Methylmercury (MeHg) is the most important and the most abundant organic Hg pollutantin the aquatic ecosystem that can affect human health through biomagnification. It is the mosttoxic organic Hg form, which occurs naturally and by human-induced contamination in water andis further biomagnified in the aquatic food web. MeHg is the only Hg form that accumulates inliving organisms and is able to cross the blood–brain barrier, presenting an enormous health risk.Anthropogenic activity increases eutrophication of coastal waters worldwide, which promotes algaeblooms. Microalgae, as primary producers, are especially sensitive to MeHg exposure in water andare an important entrance point for MeHg into the aquatic food web. MeHg assimilated by microalgaeis further transferred to fish, wildlife and, eventually, humans as final consumers. MeHg biomagnifiesand bioaccumulates in living organisms and has serious negative health effects on humans, especiallynewborns and children. Knowledge of the microalgae–MeHg interaction at the bottom of the foodweb provides key insights into the control and prevention of MeHg exposure in humans and wildlife.This review aims to summarize recent findings in the literature on the microalgae–MeHg interaction,which can be used to predict MeHg transfer and toxicity in the aquatic food web
PB MDPI
SN 2673-9410 (electrónico)
YR 2022
FD 2022-09
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/21396
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/21396
LA eng
NO Gojkovic, Z., Skrobonja, A., Funk, C., Garbayo, I., & Vílchez, C. (2022). The Role of Microalgae in the Biogeochemical Cycling of Methylmercury (MeHg) in Aquatic Environments. In Phycology (Vol. 2, Issue 3, pp. 344–362). MDPI AG. https://doi.org/10.3390/phycology2030019
NO This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economic Transformation, Industry,Knowledge and Universities; by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) within theframework of the FEDER program of Andalusia (Spain) 2014–2020, grant number UHU–202065; andby Grant P20-00930 from the Andalusian Plan for Research, Development and Innovation, within theframe of the operational program “FEDER Andalucía 2014–2020”The authors wish to thank Erik Björn from Department of Chemistry, UmeåUniversity, Sweden, for his constructive comments on the paper’s content. We wish to thank personnelfrom LICAH (Laboratorio de Investigación y Control Agroalimentario), University of Huelva, fortheir collaboration and cooperation under FEDER 2014–2020 UHU–202065 project. We also wantto thank colleagues from BITAL (Algae Biotechnology Group), University of Huelva, for their kindassistance in the lab and for creating a productive working environment
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 1 jun 2026