Copper/zinc superoxide dismutase was cloned from the zebrafish (
Danio rerio). The full coding region of the zebrafish superoxide dismutase (ZSOD) complementary DNA was ligated with pET-20b(+) and successfully expressed in
Escherichia coli strain AD494(DE3)pLysS. The active enzyme was purified by His tagging. The ZSOD yield was 6 mg from 0.2 L of
E. coli culture, and the specific activity was 2000 U/mg as assayed using a RANSOD kit. The enzyme stability was characterized by reaction to temperature, pH, and detergent treatment. The results showed enzyme activity was still active after heat treatment at 70°C for 10 minutes, resistant to pH treatment from 2.3 to 12, and resistant to treatment with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) under 4%. In addition, the recombinant ZSOD was used to protect fish from 100 ppm of paraquat-induced oxidative injury by soaking fish larva in 55 µg/ml SOD enzyme. The results were significant.
Keywords Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase - overexpression - zebrafish - paraquat -
Escherichia coli