Abstract
ORGANISMS isolated from environments polluted by heavy metals are often tolerant of those metals1–5. Tolerance is usually accompanied by metal uptake equal to or greater than that of non-tolerant organisms2,6–10; the accumulated metals seem to be chemically detoxified and/or physically sequestered to render them inactive2,6,7,11–13. Because heavy metal tolerant algae10, plants2, yeast7 and invertebrates8,10 have been found not to restrict metal uptake, metal exclusion has been considered a rare mechanism of tolerance6. I report here, however, that a copper-tolerant strain of the common unicellular green alga Chlorella vulgaris excludes copper.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bradshaw, A. D. Nature 169, 1098 (1952).
Antonovics, J., Bradshaw, A. D. & Turner, R. G. Adv. ecol. Res. 7, 1–85 (1971).
Russel, G. & Morris, O. P. Nature 228, 288–289 (1970).
Stokes, P. M., Hutchinson, T. C. & Krauter, K. Can. J. Bot. 51, 2155–2168 (1973).
Harding, J. P. C. & Whitton, B. A. Br. phycol. J. 11, 417–426 (1976).
Turner, R. G. in Ecological Aspects of Mineral Nutrition of Plants (ed. Rorison, I. H.) Br. ecol. Soc. Symp. 9, 399–410 (Blackwell, Oxford, 1969).
Ashida, J. A. Rev. Phytopath. 3, 153–174 (1965).
Bryan, G. W. & Hummerstone, L. G. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 51, 845–863 (1971); 53, 839–857, 859–872 (1973).
Hutchinson, T. C. & Stokes, P. M. in Water Quality Parameters, ASTM STP 573, 320–343 (Am. Soc. for Testing and Materials, 1975).
Brown, B. E. Water Res. 10, 555–559 (1976).
Turner, R. G. & Marshall, C. New Phytol. 70, 539–545 (1971).
Silverberg, B. A. Phycologia 14, 265–274 (1975).
Brown, B. E. Freshwat. Biol. 7, 235–244 (1977).
Nichols, H. W. & Bold, H. C. J. Phycol. 1, 34–38 (1965).
Steemann Nielsen, E. & Kamp-Nielsen, L. Physiol. Pl. 23, 828–840 (1970).
Nuzzi, R. Nature 237, 38–40 (1972).
Bartlett, L., Rabe, F. W. & Funk, W. H. Water Res. 8, 179–185 (1974).
Davies, A. G. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 56, 39–57 (1976).
Greene, J. C., Miller, W. E., Shiroyama, T., Soltero, R. A. & Putnam, K. Proc. Symp. on Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecological Studies of the Northwest, Eastern Washington State College, Cheney, Washington, March 26–27, 327–336 (1976).
Kanazawa, T. & Kanazawa, K. Pl. cell. Physiol. Tokyo 10, 495–502 (1969).
Tonomura, K., Maeda, K., Futai, F., Nakagami, T. & Yamada, M. Nature 217, 644 (1968).
Ben-Bassat, D., Shelef, G., Gruner, N. & Shuval, H. I. Nature 240, 43–44 (1972).
Bryan, G. W. in Effects of Pollutants on Aquatic Organisms (ed. Lockwood, A. P. M.) Soc. exp. Biol., Sem. Ser. 2, 7–34 (1976).
McLean, R. O. & Jones, A. Freshwat. Biol. 5, 431–444 (1975).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
FOSTER, P. Copper exclusion as a mechanism of heavy metal tolerance in a green alga. Nature 269, 322–323 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/269322a0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/269322a0
This article is cited by
-
Weakened growth, cell division, and energy metabolism, but enhanced resistance, signaling, and anabolism: responses of Ulva prolifera to copper elucidated by omics
Journal of Applied Phycology (2021)
-
Zinc Pyrithione (ZnPT) as an Antifouling Biocide in the Marine Environment—a Literature Review of Its Toxicity, Environmental Fates, and Analytical Methods
Water, Air, & Soil Pollution (2019)
-
Comparison of Partitioning and Efficacy Between Copper Algaecide Formulations: Refining the Critical Burden Concept
Water, Air, & Soil Pollution (2018)
-
Excess copper induces anoxygenic photosynthesis in Anabaena doliolum: a homology based proteomic assessment of its survival strategy
Photosynthesis Research (2008)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
