Accumulation of Cadmium and Cobalt by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

SUMMARY: Saccharomyces cerevisiae accumulated Co²⁺ and Cd²⁺ by two processes: the first, which was metabolism-independent, was presumably cation binding to the cell surface; this was followed by metabolism-dependent, progressive uptake of relatively large amounts of the cations. Two K⁺ ions were released for each Co²⁺ ion taken up in freshly prepared cell suspensions whereas extensive loss of cell K⁺ followed the uptake of Cd²⁺. Co²⁺ and Cd²⁺ appeared to be accumulated via a general cation uptake system, with limited specificity related to the ionic radii of the cations.