Sequence and Analysis of a Plasmid-Encoded Mercury Resistance Operon from Mycobacterium marinum Identifies MerH, a New Mercuric Ion Transporter

In this study, we report the DNA sequence and biological analysis of a mycobacterial mercury resistance operon encoding a novel Hg2+ transporter. MerH was found to transport mercuric ions in Escherichia coli via a pair of essential cysteine residues but only when coexpressed with the mercuric reductase.