Characterization of a Cadmium-resistant Yeast Strain in Response to Cadmium or Heat Shock Stress

A varient strain of budding yeast, Hansenula anomala B-7 which had been identified to be highly resistant to cadmium ions, were observed by transmission electron microscopy. It was shown that the cells accumulated excess amounts of cadmium ions throughout inside the cell rather than on the cell surface. The cell growth in response to cadmium or heat shock stress has also been investigated. It was observed that the cells precultured in the presence of 500 $\mu$ g/ml of Cd ions grew slower than those precultured at 1, 000 $\mu$ g/ml of the metal ions, when they were cultivated in the media containing 1, 000 $\mu$g/ml of the metal ions. Heat shock, however, stimulated the cell growth transiently, when the cells were allowed to grow in the presence of 1, 000 $\mu$g/ml of the metal ions. But the cells given heat shock for more than 100 min received permanent damage to growth. Effects of both stresses on budding rate was also examined. It revealed that the stresses did not change the budding ratio much, which was contradictory to that observed from the same budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Furthermore, the cells treated with 1, 000 $\mu$g/ml of the metal ions not only induced, but also switched off the expression of several new proteins. Some of the cadmium stress-inducible proteins were estimated to be also induced by heat shock stress.