Copper uptake by Penicillium brevicompactum.

The copper binding properties of Penicillium brevicompactum biomass were influenced by growth phase of mycelium and concentration of copper in reaction mixtures. The efficiency of copper uptake increased with growth time and was largest at the mid-logarithmic growth phase. The time course of copper uptake was biphasic. Double reciprocal plots of absorption velocity of copper vs. copper concentration gave straight lines at concentration between 0.5 to 4 mM. The apparent affinity of copper to the biomass of the stationary growth phase was the same as that of logarithmic growth phase and Km values were about 1.4 mM. Pretreatment of the mycelium with glucose increased the amount of metal uptake about five times in comparison with the controls.