Methylmercury

Methylmercury (CH3Hg+) is the organic form of mercury that biomagnifies through marine food webs and is the main route of human mercury exposure, through fish consumption. Sulfate-reducing and iron-reducing bacteria in anoxic sediment and water methylate inorganic mercury into it. Being lipophilic and protein-binding, it concentrates up trophic levels with trophic magnification factors near 2, reaching the highest burdens in long-lived predators such as tuna, swordfish, and toothed whales. It is a potent neurotoxicant, the agent of Minamata disease, and the chemical driver behind mercury controls under the Minamata Convention.