Tsa1 is the dominant peroxide scavenger and a source of HO-dependent GSSG production in yeast.

Hydrogen peroxide (HO) is an important biological molecule, functioning both as a second messenger in cell signaling and, especially at higher concentrations, as a cause of cell damage. Cells harbor multiple enzymes that have peroxide reducing activity in vitro. However, the contribution of each of these enzymes towards peroxide scavenging in vivo is less clear.

Real-time monitoring of basal H2O2 levels with peroxiredoxin-based probes.

Genetically encoded probes based on the H2O2-sensing proteins OxyR and Orp1 have greatly increased the ability to detect elevated H2O2 levels in stimulated or stressed cells. However, these proteins are not sensitive enough to monitor metabolic H2O2 baseline levels. Using yeast as a platform for probe development, we developed two peroxiredoxin-based H2O2 probes, roGFP2-Tsa2ΔCR and roGFP2-Tsa2ΔCPΔCR, that afford such sensitivity.