EFPC Periphyton Microbiome

The conversion of mercury (Hg) to monomethylmercury (MMHg) is a critical area of concern in global Hg cycling. Periphyton biofilms may harbor significant amounts of MMHg but little is known about the community of Hg methylating microorganisms within them. Therefore, we used amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene, ITS2 region, and hgcAB gene to characterize the archaea/bacteria, fungi, and methylating microorganisms in periphyton communities grown in a contaminated watershed in East Tennessee.