A chemiluminescence study showed that Qi site inhibitors such as antimycin A induce O2 − generation in respiring cyanide-sensitive mitochondria from the yeast, Hansenula anomala. The O2 − generation was suppressed by radical scavengers such as flavone, butylated hydroxyanisole, and Co0. Induction of cyanide-resistant respiration in H. anomala cells by Qi site inhibitors was also inhibited by these radical scavengers. Furthermore, antimycin A-induced synthesis of the mitochondrial 36-kDa protein, which is thought to be the alternative oxidase functional in the cyanide-resistant respiratory pathway, was abolished by the addition of flavone. These observations suggest that O2 − is somehow involved in the induction of cyanide-resistant respiration.
