Using genes borrowed from bacteria, Macquarie University-led research has demonstrated fish and flies can be engineered to break down methylmercury and remove it from their bodies as a less harmful gas, offering new ways to tackle persistent mercury pollution in the environment.
Using genes borrowed from bacteria, Macquarie University-led research has demonstrated fish and flies can be engineered to break down methylmercury and remove it from their bodies as a less harmful gas, offering new ways to tackle persistent mercury pollution in the environment.
Australian scientists have found an effective new way to clean up methylmercury, one of the world’s most dangerous pollutants, which often builds up in our food and environment because of industrial activities such as illegal gold mining and burning coal.
The discovery, published in Nature Communications, could lead to new ways of engineering animals to protect both wildlife and human health.
The research team from Macquarie University’s Applied BioSciences, CSIRO, Macquarie Medical School, and the ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, has successfully genetically modified fruit flies and zebrafish to transform methylmercury into a far less harmful gas that disperses in air.
Read more at Macquarie University
Photo Credit: Kuznetsov_Peter via Pixabay
