Investigations on the simultaneous uptake and release of mercury by Dunaliella tertiolecta

By using two different radioactive mercury isotopes, detailed information was obtained on the uptake and simultaneous release of mercury by Dunaliella tertiolecta. Hg-203 was added to a well-aged culture, which 2 days later was separated from the medium, washed and cultivated again in a fresh medium containing Hg-197. It was found that an exchange of mercury takes place between the cells and the medium. An increase in the concentration of volatile mercury occurs simultaneously with the maximum concentration of chlorophyll a. Comparing the culture solutions with the blanks, the dissolved mercury shows similar volatility. This leads to the assumption that the main part of the dissolved mercury in the culture solutions is in the inorganic state.