Comparison of the levels of the
protein carboxylic groups in response to
peroxide stress revealed enhanced stress resistance in Purpureocillium lilacinum strains isolated from
soils with high content of
copper or
radionuclides compared to the strains isolated from uncontaminated
soils. While in background strains resistance to
peroxide stress increased with
glucose content in the medium increasing from 0.002 to 2%, the strains from
radionuclides- or
copper-contaminated
soils did not exhibit this pattern. Respiratory activity and
polyphosphate content were compared for radiation-resistant strain 1941 and strain SM from the area with zero radioactivity. For the protoplasts of strain 1941 isolated from the Chernobyl zone, elevated respiratory activity was revealed on the media with low
glucose content. Under the control conditions, the content of inorganic
polyphosphates (
polyP) in strains 1941 and SM was the same. Under conditions of
peroxide stress, only the background strain SM grown on the medium with low
glucose concentration exhibited decreased levels of inorganic
polyphosphates. Independent on
glucose concentration in the medium, in both P. lilacinum strains,
polyP content increased in the course of regeneration after
peroxide stress.