Accumulation of toxic metals in the environment represents a public health and wildlife concern. Bacteria resistant to toxic metals
constitute an attractive biomass for the development of systems to decontaminate soils, sediments, or waters. In particular,
biosorption of metals within the bacterial cell wall or secreted extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) is an emerging process
for the bioremediation of contaminated water. Here the isolation of bacteria from soil, effluents, and river sediments contaminated
with toxic metals permitted the selection of seven bacterial isolates tolerant to mercury and associated with a mucoid phenotype
indicative of the production of EPS.