Investigation on pH dependent uptake of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) by Baker’s yeast

Abstract

Yeast cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were found to accumulate ⁵¹Cr(III) radioisotope at basic pH in trace level. There was no uptake of Cr(VI) at the same pH (~10.5). An assay of the products of cell lysis reveals that Cr(III) first gets adsorbed at the cell wall and then slowly enters the cytoplasm. On the other hand Cr(VI) has a faster penetration into the cytoplasm which increases with time, attains a maximum value and then release the metal ion from cytoplasm. The behavior and uptake kinetics of ⁵¹Cr(III) or ⁵¹Cr(VI) were studied using -spectrometry.