Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 1984 May;47(5):1005-11.
doi: 10.1128/aem.47.5.1005-1011.1984.

Comparison of methods to measure acute metal and organometal toxicity to natural aquatic microbial communities

R B Jonas, C C Gilmour, D L Stoner, M M Weir, J H Tuttle
Comparative Study

Comparison of methods to measure acute metal and organometal toxicity to natural aquatic microbial communities

R B Jonas et al. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1984 May.

Abstract

Microbial communities in water from Baltimore Harbor and from the mainstem of Chesapeake Bay were examined for sensitivity to mercuric chloride, monomethyl mercury, stannic chloride, and tributyltin chloride. Acute toxicity was determined by measuring the effects of [3H]thymidine incorporation, [14C]glutamate incorporation and respiration, and viability as compared with those of controls. Minimum inhibitory concentrations were low for all metals (monomethyl mercury, less than 0.05 microgram liter-1; mercuric chloride, less than 1 microgram liter-1; tributyltin chloride, less than 5 micrograms liter-1) except stannic chloride (5 mg liter-1). In some cases, mercuric chloride and monomethyl mercury were equally toxic at comparable concentrations. The Chesapeake Bay community appeared to be slightly more sensitive to metal stress than the Baltimore Harbor community, but this was not true for all treatments or assays. For culturable bacteria the opposite result was found. Thymidine incorporation and glutamate metabolism were much more sensitive indicators of metal toxicity than was viability. To our knowledge, this is the first use of the thymidine incorporation method for ecotoxicology studies. We found it the easiest and fastest of the three methods; it is at least equal in sensitivity to metabolic measurements, and it likely measures the effects on greater portion of the natural community.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1980 Sep;40(3):516-21 - PubMed
    1. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 1982 Sep;29(3):290-7 - PubMed
    1. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1983 Jan;45(1):48-57 - PubMed
    1. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1981 Feb;41(2):466-71 - PubMed
    1. Can J Biochem. 1979 Dec;57(12):1376-83 - PubMed

Publication types