A broad mercury resistant strain of Pseudomonas putida secretes pyoverdine under limited iron conditions and high mercury concentrations

The Pseudomonas putida FB1, known as a broad-spectrum mercury resistant strain, becomes yellow-green due to the secretion of pyoverdine (PVDs) under limited iron conditions and high mercury concentrations. Different modified Nelson's media were obtained by adding mercury, iron, and the complexing agent nitrilotriacetic acid to demonstrate that the strain produces only the highest concentrations of PVDs due to the induction with 25 A mu M Hg2+. An amount of 250 mg PVDs was purified from the supernatant of 1 litre culture. The various forms of PVDs were characterized using different techniques such as fluorescence spectroscopy, high performance liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry, and scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive X-ray analyser. A set of "in vivo" experiments demonstrated that additions of Hg2+ to the cultures from 10 to 25 A mu M Hg2+ stimulate an over secretion of PVDs suggesting that the toxic cation strongly reduces the availability of apo-PVDs, because the complex mercuric-pyoverdine is very stable at neutral pH, and hinder the formation of PVDs-Fe(III).