In places where the soil has been polluted with mercury for a long time, there are fewer types of bacteria living in the soil, especially when the pollution is really bad—but fungi don’t seem to be as affected, which means bacteria are more sensitive to mercury than fungi.

In soils with more mercury, there are fewer types of bacteria, but the variety of fungi stays about the same and is greatest in soils with the least mercury.

When mercury pollutes the soil, the tiny microbes living there change how they work—they turn on genes that help them deal with the poison, which might help them survive in dirty environments.

Microbes in mercury-contaminated soil have more genes related to stress response, moving substances across cell membranes, and phosphate metabolism compared to less contaminated soils.

In soils polluted with mercury, certain types of fungi like Aspergillus and Fusarium thrive because they can soak up and neutralize the toxic metal, helping the ecosystem survive despite the pollution.

Soils with long-term mercury contamination may also have more bacteria that can resist antibiotics, because the same mechanisms that help with mercury resistance might also help with antibiotic resistance.