Holger Hintelmann

Jan 4, 2024 | nature.com | Wenli Tang |Christian Sonne |Su Shiung Lam |Holger Hintelmann |Alexander Johs |Baohua Gu | +8 more

Abstract Dietary exposure to methylmercury (MeHg) causes irreversible damage to human cognition and is mitigated by photolysis and microbial demethylation of MeHg. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) has been identified as a major dietary source of MeHg. However, it remains unknown what drives the process within plants for MeHg to make its way from soils to rice and the subsequent human dietary exposure to Hg. Here we report a hidden pathway of MeHg demethylation independent of light and microorganisms in...