Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Production Of A Novel Copper-Binding Ligand By Marine Synechococcus (Cyanobacteria) In Response To Toxic Concentrations Of Copper, Arunsi C. Brown, Andrew S. Gordon

Virginia Journal of Science

Marine Synechococcus spp. are extremely sensitive to copper toxicity. Some strains have been shown to produce high-affinity, extracellular ligands of unknown structure which form complexes with free cupric ion. They are also known to produce metallothioneins (MT) in response to cadmium and zinc stress. In the present study, marine Synechococcus PCC 73109 (Agmenellum quadruplicatum BG-1) (Van Baalen) was exposed to three concentrations of CuSO₄ for various times. Size exclusion chromatography, atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and reverse phase HPLC were used to isolate an intracellular copper binding ligand of low molecular weight (< 6,500 Da). The ligand was detected after exposure to ≥ 8 μM CuSO₄ for 2 hr in BG-11 medium. …