Thirteen yeast strains were isolated from deep-sea sediment samples collected at a depth of 4500 m to 6500 m in the Japan Trench. Amongst them, strain N6 possessed high tolerance against Cu2+ and could grow on yeast extract/peptone/dextrose/agar containing 50 mM CuSO4. Analysis of the 18S rDNA sequence indicates strain N6 belongs to the genus Cryptococcus. In contrast, the type strain of C. albidus, a typical marine yeast Rhodotorula ingeniosa and Saccharomyces cerevisiae did not grow at high concentrations of CuSO4. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) catalyzes the scavenging of superoxide radicals. The activity of SOD in cell extract of strain N6 was very weak (<1 mU mug(-1) total protein) when the strain was grown in the absence of CuSO4. However, the activity was stimulated (25.8 mU mug(-1) total protein) when cells were grown with 1 mM CuSO4 and further enhanced to 110 mU mug(-1) total protein with 10 mM CuSO4. Catalase activity was increased only 1.4 or 1.1-fold with 1 mM or 10 mM CuSO4 in the growth medium, respectively. These results suggest that SOD may have a role in the defensive mechanisms against high concentrations of CuSO4 in strain N6.