Lead resistance, sorption and accumulation in a Paecilomyces lilacinus strain

Abstract.

Isolation by a dilution plate method from Pb-polluted soil samples allowed us to select a Pb-resistant strain of Paecilomyces lilacinus, which was able to grow in media containing up to 1,437 mg Pb l^–1. Tests on the actual Pb availability in amended culture media indicate that medium components bind most of the added Pb (71–98.5%, depending on the amount added and on the pH reached). Sorption of Pb by dead and living biomasses of P. lilacinus was studied; the metal binding followed a two-stage process, with a very rapid surface adsorption within the first 6 h, and a slow intracellular diffusion in living cells in the 42 following hours.