Dws. Stephen et Dj. Jamieson, GLUTATHIONE IS AN IMPORTANT ANTIOXIDANT MOLECULE IN THE YEAST SACCHAROMYCES-CEREVISIAE, FEMS microbiology letters, 141(2-3), 1996, pp. 207-212
The tripeptide gamma-L-glutamyl-L-cystinylglycine (glutathione) is one
of the major antioxidant molecules of cells and is thought to play a
vital role in buffering the cell against reactive oxygen species and t
oxic electrophiles. We wished to determine the role of glutathione in
the protection of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae against oxidative
stress. This study shows that glutathione is an important antioxidant
molecule in yeast, with gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (gsh1) muta
nts, deficient in glutathione synthesis, being hypersensitive to H2O2
and superoxide anions in both exponential- and stationary-phase cultur
es. Despite this, these mutants are still able to induce adaptive stre
ss responses to oxidants.