Re: Why can plants that extract heavy metals store them without harm?

Hyperaccumulator plants are able to accumulate unusually high levels of heavy 
metals because they can store them in cell vacuoles where they cannot harm 
metabolic processes in the cell cytoplasm. The plant cell vacuole has been 
termed the "cellular trashbag." 

One yeast that accumulates high levels of cadmium has small peptides called 
phytochelatins that bond with cadmium ions. This allows transport of the 
cadmium ions across cell membranes and into the vacuole.

References


X-ray Imaging of Zinc Uptake and Accumulation in Hyperaccumulator Thlaspi 
caerulescens


Re: How does biomining for heavy metals work?


Yeast Gene and Cadmium