{
  "abstract": "In this study, we investigated the prevalence and abundance of the mercury resistance gene merA in human feces, retail chicken meat, and environmental water samples collected from Japan, Vietnam, and Ghana. A real-time PCR assay developed in this study demonstrated high specificity toward merA sequences from more than 12 bacterial species. Using this assay, merA was detected in 6.8% of human fecal samples in Japan (n = 29), in contrast to significantly higher rates observed in Vietnam (70.2%, n = 47) and Ghana (97.4%, n = 39). Similar geographic trends were evident in the chicken meat samples: 18.5% in Japan (n = 27), 66% in Vietnam (n = 91), and 90% in Ghana (n = 10). Environmental water samples showed a consistently high merA detection rate across all countries (75–100%, n = 21), with substantially higher gene copy numbers in Vietnam and Ghana than in Japan. merA was detected in some water samples, even when total mercury concentrations were below the detection limit, indicating that molecular detection may offer greater sensitivity than traditional physicochemical methods. Mercury-resistant bacteria were successfully isolated and cultured, and Citrobacter freundii was identified as the representative strain. Genomic analysis revealed that merA was located on an IncFIB plasmid, flanked by insertion sequences, suggesting its potential for horizontal gene transfer. These findings highlight merA as a promising biomarker for environmental mercury exposure and support the utility of fecal merA analysis as a proxy for assessing mercury-related public health risks.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "The United Graduate School of Drug Discovery and Medical Information Sciences, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan",
    "Center for Medical and Pharmaceutical Research and Service, Thai Binh University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hung Yen, Vietnam",
    "School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana",
    "Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Kindai University, Higashi-Osaka, Japan",
    "Health Administration Center, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan",
    "Institute for Glyco-core Research, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
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  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yen Hai Le"
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    {
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        1
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      "name": "Judith Dzifa Azumah"
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    {
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        2
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      "name": "Diep Thi Khong"
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    {
      "affs": [
        3
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      "name": "Thang Nam Nguyen"
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    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Cornelia Appiah-Kwarteng"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Kazuaki Matsui"
    },
    {
      "name": "Mayumi Yamamoto"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kaori Tanaka"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yoshimasa Yamamoto"
    }
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  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cmr290jh38n9q.bib",
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  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0357976",
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    "1932-6203"
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  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
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  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
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  "native_subjects": [
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      "2310|Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts"
    ],
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      "/Biology and life sciences/Nutrition/Diet/Food/Meat"
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      "/Biology and life sciences/Organisms/Eukaryota/Animals/Vertebrates/Amniotes/Birds/Fowl/Gamefowl/Chickens"
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      "/Biology and life sciences/Organisms/Eukaryota/Animals/Vertebrates/Amniotes/Birds/Poultry/Chickens"
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      "/Biology and life sciences/Zoology/Animals/Vertebrates/Amniotes/Birds/Poultry/Chickens"
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      "/Medicine and health sciences/Nutrition/Diet/Food/Meat"
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      "/People and places/Geographical locations/Asia/Japan"
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      "/People and places/Geographical locations/Asia/Vietnam"
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  "openalex": "W7211977841",
  "pdf_url": null,
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  "published": "2026-09-08",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cmr290jh38n9q.ris",
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  "title": "Comparative prevalence of the mercury resistance gene merA in human feces, food, and environmental water from Japan, Vietnam, and Ghana",
  "title_text": "Comparative prevalence of the mercury resistance gene merA in human feces, food, and environmental water from Japan, Vietnam, and Ghana",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:56Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cmr290jh38n9q",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
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}