Increased Cd biosorption capability of Aspergillus nidulans elicited by crpA deletion.

The P-type ATPase CrpA is an important Cu /Cd pump in the Aspergilli, significantly contributing to the heavy metal stress tolerance of these ascomycetous fungi. As expected, the deletion of crpA resulted in Cu /Cd -sensitive phenotypes in Aspergillus nidulans on stress agar plates inoculated with conidia. Nevertheless, paradoxical growth stimulations were observed with the ΔcrpA strain in both standard Cu stress agar plate experiments and cellophane colony harvest (CCH) cultures, when exposed to Cd .