Response to different oxidants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae ure2Delta mutant.

Growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae ure2Delta mutant strain was investigated in the presence of diverse oxidant compounds. The inability of the strain to grow on a medium supplemented with H(2)O(2) was confirmed and a relationship between diminishing levels of glutathione (GSH) and peroxide sensitivity was established. Data for the lack of significant effect of URE2 disruption on the cellular growth in the presence of paraquat and menadione were obtained. The possible role of Ure2p in acquiring sensitivity to oxidative stress by means of its regulatory role in the GATA signal transduction pathway was discussed. It was suggested that the susceptibility of ure2Delta mutant to the exogenous hydrogen peroxide can result from increased GSH degradation due to the deregulated localization of the gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activating factors Gln3/Gat1. The important role of Ure2p in in vivo glutathione-mediated reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging was shown by measuring the activity of antioxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase in an URE2 disrupted strain. A time-dependent increase in SOD and catalase activity was observed. More importantly, it was shown that the ure2 mutation could cause significant disturbance in cellular oxidant balance and increased ROS level.