Immobilization of mercury (Hg) leaching from bank soils of East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC) is considered part of remediation strategies to mitigate the amount of Hg entering the creek. Different approaches are currently being evaluated, such as utilizing engineered sorbents to immobilize Hg species in EFPC bank soils. However, the influence of environmental microbes on the immobilization of Hg by sorbents is unknown. Organocation-modified phyllosilicate clay minerals (organoclays) are widely used as sorbents for the immobilization of contaminants. This study evaluates the interactions of Serratia marcescens and Burkholderia thailandensis with the sorbent Organoclay PM-199 and their impact on the immobilization of Hg under aerobic conditions. We evaluated the competitive binding of Hg between sorbents and selected microorganisms in a series of pure culture studies using bacterial strains identified in EFPC bank soil samples. Our results suggest that Hg sorption by Organoclay PM-199 is not significantly impacted by common soil bacteria present in EFPC, specifically Serratia marcescens and Burkholderia thailandensis, which are known to form biofilms. These findings suggest that sorbent amendments are an effective strategy for the remediation of Hg contamination in natural ecosystems.

从东叉杨树溪（EFPC）的河岸土壤中浸出的汞（Hg）固定化被认为是缓解汞进入小河的补救措施的一部分。目前正在评估不同的方法，例如利用工程吸附剂将汞物种固定在EFPC库岸土壤中。然而，环境微生物对吸附剂固定汞的影响尚不清楚。有机改性的层状硅酸盐粘土矿物（有机粘土）被广泛用作吸附剂，用于固定污染物。本研究评估了粘质沙雷氏菌和泰国伯克霍尔德菌的相互作用。吸附剂Organoclay PM-199及其在有氧条件下对汞固定化的影响。在一系列纯培养研究中，我们使用在EFPC库土壤样品中鉴定出的细菌菌株，评估了汞在吸附剂和选定微生物之间的竞争性结合。我们的研究结果表明，EFPC中常见的土壤细菌（特别是粘质沙雷氏菌（Serratia marcescens）和泰国伯克霍尔德氏菌（Burkholderia thailandensis））中存在的常见土壤细菌不会明显影响Organoclay PM-199对Hg的吸附，这些细菌已形成生物膜。这些发现表明，吸附剂改良剂是一种补救自然生态系统中汞污染的有效策略。