Peroxide production in cultures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was measured using the H2O2-sensitive fluorescent probe 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) and flow cytometry. Aeration of cultures of S. cerevisiae exposed to a period of hypoxia was found to induce elevated levels of peroxide that were 100-fold higher than the levels observed in cultures maintained under exclusively aerated or hypoxic conditions. Simultaneous viability analysis, using the fluorescent DNA-intercalating dye propidium iodide, indicated that the increase in peroxide generation preceded cell damage and death. Various agents were found to influence the effect of peroxides on cell viability. The addition of ethanol to hypoxic stationary cultures dramatically increased the rate of cell death without further increasing the amount of peroxide produced, while glucose inhibited peroxide production and decreased the rate of cell death. Surprisingly, elevated peroxide levels of hypoxic/reaerated cultures were maintained upon addition of KH2PO4, although the cells remained viable for extended periods of time when compared to control and other test cultures. Similarities between our observations and those of other investigators using anoxic/reperfused organs suggest that hypoxic/reaerated yeast cultures may be a useful model system to study ischemia-dependent tissue destruction of mammals.