Responses of Candida fukuyamaensis RCL‐3 and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa RCL‐11 to copper stress

The effect of high Cu(II) concentrations on superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity in Candida fukuyamaensis RCL‐3 and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa RCL‐11, previously isolated from a copper filter at a mine plant in Argentina, was studied. Addition of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.5 mM Cu(II) to the culture medium increased total SOD and CAT activity in both strains. Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed two bands with SOD activity for C. fukuyamaensis RCL‐3 and only one for R. mucilaginosa RCL‐11; the three bands corresponded to MnSOD. Intracellular accumulation of copper and morphological changes was observed using electron microscopy. Dark bodies examined with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) after 48 h of incubation probably corresponded to copper deposits. The number of dark bodies in R. mucilaginosa RCL‐11 grew with increasing incubation time, whereas in C. fukuyamaensis RCL‐3 the amount decreased. Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) of C. fukuyamaensis RCL‐3 did not reveal any differences compared with the control, but R. mucilaginosa RCL‐11 cells were bigger than control ones. TEM confirmed absence of compartmentalization mechanisms in Cu(II) detoxification since electron‐dense bodies were mainly found in the cytoplasm. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)