An Azide-Insensitive Superoxide Dismutase from a Hyperthermophilic Archaeon, Sulfolobus solfataricus

Abstract

The superoxide dismutase (SOD) gene of Sulfolobus solfataricus, a hyperthermophilic archaeon, was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, and its gene product was characterized. When the protein was expressed in E. coli, it formed a homodimer that contained both Mn and Fe. Metal reconstitution experiments of the SOD with Fe or Mn showed that only the Fe-reconstituted SOD was active. Substitution of Tyr88 to Phe did not affect the metal specificity of the enzyme. The Fe-reconstituted SOD was extremely resistant to thermal denaturation; e.g. 96% of the initial activity was retained after heating at 95°C for 2 h. Fe-reconstituted SOD was not inhibited by azide, but fluoride inhibition was observed. This suggests that some steric hindrance in the substrate funnel of the enzyme prevents the access of N₃^- but allows O₂^- and F^- access to the active site.