In soils with mercury contamination, the most common types of bacteria belong to groups called Pseudomonadota, Bacteroidota, Bacillota, Acidobacteriota, and Actinomycetota.

In soils with mercury contamination, the most common types of fungi belong to groups called Ascomycota and Basidiomycota.

The bacteria Burkholderia and Pseudomonas are more common in soils with higher levels of total mercury and methylmercury.

Certain types of bacteria, called Burkholderia and Geobacter, are often found in soil that’s been polluted with mercury, and they have special genes that help them survive and clean up the poison — so they’re probably key players in these dirty soils.