Pushing back the frontiers of mercury speciation using a combination of biomolecular and isotopic signatures: Challenge and perspectives Young Investigators in Analytical and Bioanalytical Science
Résumé
Mercury (Hg) pollution is considered a major environmental problem due to the extreme toxicity of Hg. However, Hg metabolic pathways in biota remain elusive. An understanding of these pathways is crucial to elucidating the (eco)toxic effects of Hg and its biogeochemical cycle. The development of a new analytical methodology based on both speciation and natural isotopic fractionation represents a promising approach for metabolic studies of Hg and other metal(loid)s. Speciation provides valuable information about the reactivity and potential toxicity of metabolites, while the use of natural isotopic signature analysis adds a complementary dynamic dimension that allows the life history of the target element to be probed, the source of the target element (i.e., the source of pollution) to be identified, and reactions to be tracked. The resulting combined (bio)molecular and isotopic signature affords precious insight into the behavior of Hg in biota and Hg detoxification mechanisms. In the long term, this highly innovative methodology could be used in life and environmental science studies of metal(loid)s to push back the frontiers of our knowledge in this field. This paper summarizes the current status of the application of Hg speciation and the isotopic signature of Hg at the biomolecular level in living organisms, and discusses potential future uses of this combination of techniques.