Ultrastructure, glutathione and low molecular weight proteins of Penicillium brevicompactum in response to cobalt.

Penicillium brevicompactum highly tolerated cobalt concentrations of 50, 200, 800 and 1000 ppm both through cell wall and intracellular sequestration- immobilization of the metal on/within the cell wall, cell wall thickness, presence of electron-dense deposits inside vacuoles (thiol peptides sequestering cobalt) and in the cytoplasm (cobalt), and presence of matrixed electron-dense deposits, only at 800 and 1000 ppm, were observed. Increased vacuole formation and plasmolysis were also observed. Fraction number 9 of the cell free extract showed maximum cobalt uptake for all the investigated cobalt concentrations. In this fraction, glutathione was only induced at 500, 800 and 1000 ppm. Maximum glutathione concentration supported maximum cobalt uptake at 800 ppm. Low molecular weight protein profiles of fraction number 9 revealed that the presence of cobalt induced the appearance of new proteins that were not detected in the same fraction of the control. These low molecular weight peptides (12-5 KDa) suggest the production of Co-metallothioneins. This is the first report of cobalt-induced glutathione by P. brevicompactum and suggests the possible production of phytochelatins.