The ferri-reductase activity of whole cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (washed free from the growth medium) was markedly increased 3 to 6 h after transferring the cells from a complete growth medium (preculture) to an iron-deficient growth medium (culture). This increase was prevented by the presence of iron, copper, excess oxygen, or other oxidative agents in the culture medium. The cells with increased ferri-reductase activity had a higher reduced glutathione content and a higher capacity to expose exofacial sulfhydryl groups. Plasma membranes purified from those cells exhibited a higher reduced nicotinamide adenine phosphate (NADPH)-dependent ferri-reductase specific activity. However, the intracellular levels of NADPH, NADH, and certain organic acids of the tricarboxylic acids cycle were unchanged, and the activity of NADPH-generating enzymes was not increased. Addition of Fe(lll)-EDTA to iron-deprived and iron-rich cells in resting suspension resulted in a decrease in intracellular reduced glutathione in the case of iron-deprived cells and in an increase in organic acids and a sudden oxidation of NADH in both types of cells. The depolarizing effect of Fe3" was more pronounced in iron-rich cells. The metabolic pathways that may be involved in regulating the trans-plasma membrane electron transfer in yeast are discussed.The reductive pathway of iron assimilation in plants and microorganisms involves reduction of ferric iron, either at the cell surface via a trans-plasma membrane redox system, or in the extracellular medium via excreted reducing compounds. Iron is then taken up by the cells as soluble Fe2" ions (1,8,21).We have previously shown that yeast cells, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, exhibit a ferri-reductase activity that is dramatically increased in response to iron limitation. We provided both physiological and genetic evidence that the reductase activity was required for the uptake of iron by the cells from several ferric chelates (15)(16)(17). Heme-deficient mutants, which were shown to be also deficient in ferri-reductase activity, are unable to take up iron efficiently from ferric citrate (16). Our results were recently confirmed by the work of Dancis et al. (6), who also isolated a ferri-reductase-deficient mutant.