Heavy metal Uptake in the Cynobacterium Nostoc calcicola.

Abstract

The literature on the inhibitory effect of copper on growth (Les &Walker, 1984), photosynthesis (Shiol et al, 1978) and nitrogen fixation (Rai & Raizada, 1985) in algae and higher plants is impressive. Heavy metals inhibit the uptake and assimilation of nutrients (Singh & Yadava, 1983, 1984). Mechanisms governing the metal uptake process in microorganisms (Bhattacharjee, 1986) and in cyanobacteria (Singh & Yadava, 1985) are investigated. The possibility of involvement of carrier (s) and energy in the metal transport across the cell membranes has been suggested (Veltrup, 1977). The toxicity of heavy metal to algae (Hargreaves & Whitton, 1976 a,b; Singh & were diluted to S hli with triple glass distilled water. A furher Pandey 1981) is influenced by environmental factors like pH, light and complexans. However, there have been only a few studies on the effect of environmental factors on copper uptake in cyanobacteria. The present investigation reports on the copper uptake kinetics and the role of various factors on Nostoc calcicola.