Copper Tolerance of Microfungi Isolated from Polluted and Unpolluted Forest Soil

Microfungi were isolated from unpolluted and copper polluted forest soils and their tolerance to Cu was tested on agar plates. Species from polluted sites were usually tolerant to Cu. The most tolerant species were Paecilomyces farinosus, Beauveria bassiana, Verticillium spp. and Penicillium brevicompactum. Sensitive species were found among Mortierella, Oidiodendron and Penicillium. They were usually rare in polluted sites. Little evidence for adaptation to Cu was found among isolates from sites with short or long history of pollution.