1 Cadmium (Cd) is one of the most toxic heavy metals of great environmental 2 concern and its toxicity has been investigated in a variety of cells. In this study, we 3 elucidated the toxic effects of cadmium in yeast cells. Our results showed that Cd 2+ 4 (0.05-5.0 mmol L -1 ) significantly inhibited yeast cell growth, and the inhibitory effect 5 was positively correlated with Cd 2+ concentrations. Cd 2+ caused loss of cell viability in 6 a concentration-and duration-dependent manner in yeast

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... lls. Intracellular reactive 7 oxygen species (ROS) and Ca 2+ levels increased in yeast cells after exposed to 5.0 8 mmol L -1 cadmium for 6 h. Cd 2+ -caused cell viability loss was blocked by antioxidants 9 (0.5 mmol L -1 ascorbic acid (ASA) or 500 U·mL -1 catalase (CAT)) or Ca 2+ antagonists 10 (0.5 mmol L -1 ethylene glycol tetraacetic acid (EGTA) or 0.5 mmol L -1 LaCl 3 ). 11 Moreover, a collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential (∆Ψ m ) was observed in 12 Cd 2+ -treated yeast cells. These results indicated that cadmium-induced yeast cell killing 13 was associated with the elevation of intracellular ROS and Ca 2+ levels and also the loss 14 of ∆Ψ m . 15