A Cd2+-selective vibrating microelectrode was constructed using a neutral carrier-based Cd ionophore to investigate ion-transport processes along the roots of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and two species of Thlaspi, one a Zn/Cd hyperaccumulator and the other a related nonaccumulator. In simple Cd(NO3)2 solutions, the electrode exhibited a Nernstian response in solutions with Cd2+ activities as ...

Allium cepa var. agrogarum L. seedlings grown in nutrient solution were subjected to increasing concentrations of Cd2+ (0, 1, 10, 100 μM). Variation in tolerance to cadmium toxicity was studied based on chromosome aberrations, nucleoli structure and reconstruction of root tip cells, Cd accumulation and mineral metabolism, lipid peroxidation, and changes in the antioxidative defense system (SOD,...

Metallothioneins, a class of low molecular weight cysteine-rich proteins that bind heavy metal ions, have been found in various eucaryotic organisms. When fission yeasts are grown in the presence of high concentration of CdCl2, large amounts of Cd-binding peptides (Cd-BP1 and Cd-BP2) are synthesized. Cd-BP1 (MW 4000) contains 4 mole of small unit peptide (cadystin, MW 771), 6 mole of Cd2+, and ...

the contamination of water by toxic heavy metals is a world-wide environmental problem. discharges containing cadmium, in particular, are strictly controlled due to the highly toxic nature of this element and its tendency to accumulate in the tissues of living organisms. low concentration (below 5 mg`/l) of cadmium is difficult to treat economically using chemical precipitation methodologies. i...

The adverse effects of microcystin (MC) produced by cyanobacteria have drawn considerable attention from the public. Yet it remains unclear whether MC confers any benefits to the cyanobacteria themselves. One suggested function of MC is complexation, which may influence the bioaccumulation and toxicity of trace metals. To test this hypothesis, we examined Cd toxicity to wild-type Microcystis ae...

background and objectives: the mobility, bioavailability and environmental fate of heavy metal ions in soil are controlled by sorption onto soil minerals and solid organic matter. the sorption is strongly affected by the presence of various low-molecular-weight organic acids. the main objective of this study was to investigate the effects of oxalic acid on sorption of cd on clay fraction of a s...

A two-stranded alpha-helical coiled coil was prepared having a Cys 4 metal-binding site within its hydrophobic interior. The addition of Cd2+ results in the incorporation of 2 equiv of metal ion, which is accompanied by a conformational change of the peptide, as observed by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) shows that the addition of Cd2+ is accompanie...

The yeast cadmium factor (YCF1) gene encodes an MgATP-energized glutathione S-conjugate transporter responsible for the vacuolar sequestration of organic compounds after their S-conjugation with glutathione. However, while YCF1 was originally isolated according to its ability to confer resistance to cadmium salts, neither its mode of interaction with Cd2+ nor the relationship between this proce...

The resistance to cadmium ions (Cd-resistance) and possible formation of cadmium-binding complexes were examined in eight different wild-type yeasts. Saccharomyces exiguus, Pichia farinosa, Torulaspora delbrueckii and Schizosaccharomyces octosporus exhibited partial Cd-resistance, as compared to the Cd-resistant strain 301N and the Cu-resistant but Cd-sensitive strain X2180-1B of Saccharomyces ...

Understanding the chemical interactions that occur in complex natural systems is fundamental to their management In this work the distribution of cadmium in the presence of phthalic acid (H2Lp), ferrihydrite, and bacteria cells (Comamonas spp., heat killed) was measured and modeled for systems with incrementally increasing complexity. In binary systems, cadmium adsorption onto bacteria or ferri...