-Contractions in whole skeletal muscle during hypoxia are known to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS); however, identification of real-time ROS formation within isolated single skeletal muscle fibers has been challenging. Consequently, there is no convincing evidence showing increased ROS production in intact contracting fibers under low PO2 conditions. Therefore, we hypothesized that intracellular ROS generation in single contracting skeletal myofibers increases during low PO2 compared with a value approximating normal resting PO2. Dihydrofluorescein was loaded into single frog (Xenopus) fibers, and fluorescence was used to monitor ROS using confocal microscopy. Myofibers were exposed to two maximal tetanic contractile periods (1 contraction/3 s for 2 min, separated by a 60-min rest period), each consisting of one of the following treatments: high PO2 (30 Torr), low PO2 (3-5 Torr), high PO2 with ebselen (antioxidant), or low PO2 with ebselen. Ebselen (10 M) was administered before the designated contractile period. ROS formation during low PO2 treatment was greater than during high PO2 treatment, and ebselen decreased ROS generation in both low-and high-PO2 conditions (P Ͻ 0.05). ROS accumulated at a faster rate in low vs. high PO2. Force was reduced Ͼ30% for each condition except low PO2 with ebselen, which only decreased ϳ15%. We concluded that single myofibers under low PO2 conditions develop accelerated and more oxidative stress than at PO2 ϭ 30 Torr (normal human resting PO2). Ebselen decreases ROS formation in both low and high PO2, but only mitigates skeletal muscle fatigue during reduced PO2 conditions. hypoxia; confocal; reactive oxygen species; ebselen; myofiber REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS) play important roles in biological systems (1,44,46,47,49,50). ROS have been documented as a general response to ischemia-reperfusion injury (26, 43), muscle stimulation (29), and heat stress (44). Excessive ROS disrupt nearly all physiological systems (1,44,46,47,49,50). However, the underlying mechanism of ROS formation in hypoxic skeletal muscle has not been fully elucidated. Moreover, there has been little investigation of ROS generation within single skeletal muscle fibers under low PO 2 conditions using real-time measurements, which eliminates some of the problems associated with these measurements that have been made in whole animal or whole muscle preparations (46). Previous research suggests that in human skeletal muscle, intracellular PO 2 drops from ϳ30 Torr at rest to 3-5 Torr during exercise (40). Thus, it is of interest to investigate intracellular ROS formation during these conditions of low PO 2 in single contracting myocytes.Hypoxia causes a significant accumulation of reducing agents in the mitochondria, such as NADH and FADH 2 . Abrupt exposure to O 2 can promote immediate formation of superoxide anion (O 2 ·Ϫ ) in the mitochondrial electron transport chain (2, 37), thus initiating oxidative stress. Moreover, substantial data point to intracellular ROS formation in cardiac tissue during hypo...