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Cytoplasmic inorganic polyphosphate participates in the heavy metal tolerance of Cryptococcus humicola

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Abstract

The basidiomycetous yeast Cryptococcus humicola was shown to be tolerant to manganese, cobalt, nickel, zinc, lanthanum, and cadmium cations at a concentration of 2.5 mmol/L, which is toxic for many yeasts. The basidiomycetous yeast Cryptococcus terreus was sensitive to all these ions and did not grow at the above concentration. In the presence of heavy metal cations, С. humicola, as opposed to C. terreus, was characterized by the higher content of acid-soluble inorganic polyphosphates. In vivo 4′,6′-diamino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride staining revealed polyphosphate accumulation in the cell wall and cytoplasmic inclusions of С. humicola in the presence of heavy metals. In C. terreus, polyphosphates in the presence of heavy metals accumulate mainly in vacuoles, which results in morphological changes in these organelles and, probably, disturbance of their function. The role of polyphosphate accumulation and cellular localization as factors of heavy metal tolerance of Cryptococcus humicola is discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors were supported by the Program of Presidium of Russian Academy of Sciences “The Problems of Life Origin and Biosphere Formation.” They are grateful to Dr. W.I. Golubev for kindly providing yeast strains and to E. Makeeva for assistance in preparing the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Skryabin Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms, Russian Academy of Sciences, Prospect Nauki 5, Pushchino, Moscow Region, 142290, Russia

    Nadezhda Andreeva, Lubov Ryazanova, Vladimir Dmitriev, Tatiana Kulakovskaya & Igor Kulaev

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  1. Nadezhda Andreeva
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  2. Lubov Ryazanova
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  3. Vladimir Dmitriev
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  4. Tatiana Kulakovskaya
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  5. Igor Kulaev
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Correspondence to Tatiana Kulakovskaya.

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Andreeva, N., Ryazanova, L., Dmitriev, V. et al. Cytoplasmic inorganic polyphosphate participates in the heavy metal tolerance of Cryptococcus humicola . Folia Microbiol 59, 381–389 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12223-014-0310-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12223-014-0310-x

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