The formation of disulfide bonds in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of eukaryotic cells is catalyzed by the sulfhydryl oxidase, ER oxidoreductin 1 (Ero1), and protein-disulfide isomerase (PDI). PDI is oxidized by Ero1 to continuously introduce disulfides into substrates, and feedback regulates Ero1 activity by manipulating the regulatory disulfides of Ero1. In this study we find that yeast Ero1p is enzymatically active even with its regulatory disulfides intact, and further activation of Ero1p by reduction of the regulatory disulfides requires the reduction of non-catalytic Cys 90 -Cys 97 disulfide in Pdi1p. The principal client-binding site in the Pdi1p b domain is necessary not only for the functional Ero1p-Pdi1p disulfide relay but also for the activation of Ero1p. We also demonstrate by complementary activation assays that the regulatory disulfides in Ero1p are much more stable than those in human Ero1␣. These new findings on yeast Ero1p-Pdi1p interplay reveal significant differences from our previously identified mode of human Ero1␣-PDI interplay and provide insights into the evolution of the eukaryotic oxidative protein folding pathway.Correct disulfide bond formation is critical for the maturation and function of many secretory and membrane proteins. In the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) 3 lumen of eukaryotic cells, the pivotal enzymatic pathway for catalyzing faithful disulfide formation is composed of sulfhydryl oxidase ER oxidoreductin 1 (Ero1) and protein-disulfide isomerase (PDI), which is conserved from yeast (Ero1p-Pdi1p) to human (Ero1␣/-PDI) (1-3). Both yeast Pdi1p and human PDI consist of four thioredoxin (Trx)-like domains, in the order of a, b, bЈ, and aЈ, with an x-linker between domains bЈ and aЈ and a carboxyl-terminal tail c (4, 5). The a and aЈ domains each contain a -Cys-Gly-His-Cysactive site responsible for thiol-disulfide interchange reactions and the bЈ domain possesses a hydrophobic pocket, which serves as the principal client-binding site (6 -8). Yeast Pdi1p contains two additional non-catalytic cysteines within the a domain, which form a structural disulfide bridge (9), whereas human PDI has two non-essential cysteines in the bЈ domain (10) (Fig. 1A, upper). Ero1 oxidase generates a disulfide de novo in its inner active site (Cys 352 -Cys 355 in Ero1p) and a by-product H 2 O 2 by transferring electron to molecular oxygen via its FAD cofactor (11, 12). The disulfide is then transferred to the active site of PDI for the subsequent oxidation of reducing substrates (13, 14) via the outer active site (Cys 100 -Cys 105 in Ero1p) located on an intrinsically flexible loop (15, 16). In the human system, Ero1␣ binds to the bЈ domain of PDI via a strong hydrophobic interaction (12,17,18), which results in the preferential oxidation of the aЈ domain rather than the a domain of PDI (12,19,20). In contrast, the binding interaction between Ero1p and Pdi1p is weak (18), and Ero1p oxidizes domain a of Pdi1p faster than domain aЈ (21).The oxidase activity of Ero1 is important for oxidative protein fold...