Germanium toxicity in selected bacterial and yeast strains

Abstract

The toxicity of germanium dioxide (GeO2) to 21 bacterial and 13 yeast strains was investigated in liquid broth medium to obtain information on strains tolerant to high (1 to 2 mg/ml) GeO2 concentrations. Arthrobacter sp. NRC 32005, enterobacter aerogenes NRC 2926, Klebsiella aerogenes NCTC 418 and Pseudomonas putida NRC 5019 were tolerant to 1 mg/ml GeO2. Bacillus sp. RC607 was able to grow in the presence of 2 mg/ml GeO2 at pH 10 in broth culture. The yeasts Candida guilliermondii, Candida shehatae and Pachysolen tannophilus were the most sensitive to GeO2 as evidenced by their diminished growth rates at a GeO2 concentration as low as 0.1 mg/ml. None of the yeast strains tested exhibited growth in the presence of 1 mg/ml GeO2. The high pH of the medium containing germanium may be partially responsible for the growth inhibition of the yeast cultures. Select bacterial cultures previously exposed to 1 mg/ml GeO2 could tolerate and grow better at 2 mg/ml GeO2, suggesting the existence of very efficient adaptive mechanisms. The pH of the medium could modulate GeO2 tolerance and this effect was found to be strain-dependent. © 1989 Society for Industrial Microbiology.