Wpływ jonów ołowiu na funkcjonowanie zegara biologicznego u Penicillium claviforme

Badano wpływ jonów ołowiu na funkcjonowanie zegara biologicznego u Penicillium claviforme. Stwierdzono, że w szerokim zakresie stężeń jony ołowiu nie wpływały znacząco na wzrost strzępek i suchą masę grzybni. Natomiast zegar biologiczny ulegał silnym zakłóceniom, okres rytmu ulegał znaczącemu wydłużeniu, z 30 godzin w kontroli do 100 w obecności jonów ołowiu. Obserwowano również zmiany morfologiczne powstających koremiów.

Lead ions besides those of cadmium belong to the most toxic metal ions occurring in nature. They are responsible for several distortions of metabolism, the result of which is the inhibition of growth of cells, organs and whole plant organisms. They are also responsible for the disturbance in the functioning of biological clock in fungi. Little is known on this subject at present, hence the result of the current preliminary investigations performed on Penicillium claviforme, with which the functioning of the biological clock has been fairly well recognised, will provide an answer to this question. On the basis of the performed experiments it has been found that ions of these toxic metals in lower concentrations (from 0.001 to 2.0 mg・0.001 dm⁻³ of the nutrient) did not essentially disturb normal functioning of the biological clock in Penicillium claviforme. On the other hand, the higher concentrations of lead ions (from 0.5 to 2 mg・0.001 dm⁻³ nutrient) not only affected the morphology of the fruit-bodies, the cluster of conidiophores = coremia, but also inhibited the germination process and evidently disturbed the functioning of the biological clock. These disturbances affected first of all the length of the period, resulting from the inhibition of the growth of mycelium. A preliminary analysis of the disturbance of lead ions in the mycelium and in fruit-bodies (coremia) has shown that Pb²⁺ ions remain mainly in the edifice mycelium and are transported upwards to the coremia only to a small extent.