Bacterial plasmids have genes that confer highly specific resistances to As, Bi, Cd, Cu, Cr, Hg, Pb, Te, Zn, and other toxic heavy metals. For each toxic cation or anion, generally a different resistance system exists, and these systems may be "linked" together on multiple resistance plasmids. For Cd2+, AsO2-, AsO4(3)-, Hg2+, and organomercurials, DNA sequence analysis has supplemented direct physiological and biochemical experiments to produce sophisticated understanding. The cadA ATPase of S. aureus plasmids is a 727 amino acid membrane ATPase that pumps Cd2+ from the cells as rapidly as it is accumulated. This polypeptide is related by sequence to other cation translocating ATPases, including the membrane K+ ATPases of Escherichia coli and Streptococcus faecalis, the H+ ATPases of yeast and Neurospora, the Na+/K+ ATPases of vertebrate animals, and the Ca2+ ATPases of rabbit muscle. The conserved residues include the aspartyl residue that is phosphorylated, the lysine involved in ATP binding, and the proline within a membrane translocating region. The arsenate and arsenite translocating ATPase consists of 3 polypeptides (from DNA sequence analysis), including a recognizable ATP binding protein (arsA), an integral membrane protein (arsB gene), and a substrate specificity subunit (arsC gene). Inorganic mercury and organomercurial degradation is carried out by a series of about 6 polypeptides, including 2 soluble intracellular enzymes (organomercurial lyase and mercuric reductase). The latter is related by sequence and function to glutathione reductase and lipoamide dehydrogenase of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. These enzymes are dimeric, FAD-containing, NAD(P)H-dependent oxidoreductases. Other recognizable polypeptides in the mer system include a DNA-binding regulatory protein from the merR gene and a Hg2+ transport system consisting of a periplasmic Hg2(+)-binding protein (merP gene) and a membrane protein (merT gene) in gram negative systems.