Population density-dependent metal tolerance: One possible basis and its ecological implications

A population density-dependent copper (Cu) resistance mechanism in a gram-negative soil bacterium, strain TDCd1, was shown to be inducible and was accompanied by changes in the protein composition of the outer membrane of the cell envelope. Characteristically, following inoculation of TDCd1 into Cu-supplemented growth media, there was a period of growth inhibition during which the number of individuals tolerant to Cu gradually increased, even though microcultural experiments indicated that some cells died during this period. We concluded that the population density dependency of the resistance mechanism resulted from the interactions between the rate of cell death, the time taken for Cu resistance to develop, and the size of the initial population. Therefore, the ability of relatively large populations of microorganisms to grow in metal-supplemented media under laboratory conditions may have little ecological significance for sparse populations in natural environments.