Investigation of Trace Metal Sequestering by Polyphosphate Bodies in Picoplankton

This is an award to provide support for research on the capacity of picoplankton populations in aquatic environments to take up and store heavy metals. The investigators plan on investigating the use of an analytical technique involving x-ray dispersive analysis in conjunction with electron microscopy to determine the elemental composition of individual cells and their intracellular components. They plan on identifying specific heavy metal sequestering organisms isolated from samples obtained from aquatic field locations where waters and underlying sediments are relatively rich in cadmium, nickel, mercury and other heavy metals. The role of microorganisms in the environmental cycling of metals is of importance in bioleaching, biosorption, processing of fossil fuels, and in biotreatment processing of municipal and industrial wastewaters. The removal of heavy metals from waters contaminated with them is a also a matter of considerable interest as their presence may adversely affect environmental water quality. Results of this research may be applied to modeling the diffusion, dispersion and interactions of heavy metals of significance in affecting the quality of environmental waters.