NEW STRAINS OF COPPER-RESISTANT PSEUDOMONAS BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM ANTHROPOGENICALLY POLLUTED SOILS

References: 14th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2014, www.sgem.org, SGEM2014 Conference Proceedings, ISBN 978-619-7105-20-9 / ISSN 1314-2704, June 19-25, 2014, Book 6, Vol. 1, 451-458 pp

ABSTRACT
The article examines and compares the physiological properties of Cu2+ tolerance in new bacterial isolates of Pseudomonas bacterial genus, originating from localities contaminated by mining and heavy industry. The resistance of the strains is evaluated on the grounds of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the maximum tolerable concentration (MTC) for the individual species, where MTC is the highest metal concentration, which has no effect on the growth of the resistant strain. The experimental results confirm a clearly higher capacity for Cu-resistance in the new bacterial isolates, when compared with type bacterial strains (isolated in diverse environments without any proved metal content), as almost double values are obtained. The capacities of resistance in the newly isolated strains point at an extensive species diversity of the Pseudomonas genus. Among the decisive factors for resistance formation is a high capacity of adaptation in Pseudomonas, which is conditioned by the operon organisation and the abundance of resistance plasmids, in particular.

Keywords: copper, resistance, maximum tolerance concentration (MTC), minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), Pseudomonas sp.