抄録
Our interest has been in how land plants evolved superoxide dismutases. We have studied the SODs of the bryophytes, which are considered to have been the first land plant group and occupy a critical position in the evolution of land plants. In this review, we summarize the distribution of isozymes of superoxide dismutase and their expression regulation by copper in a liverwort Marchantia paleacea var. diptera, a moss Barbula unguiculata, and a hornwort Anthoceros punctatus. The isozyme patterns of SODs in the moss and the hornwort are shown to be similar to that of vascular plants but different from that in the liverwort. SOD isozymes and expression regulation of Fe-SOD by copper in bryophytes might reflect SOD evolution for adaptation to the land environment.
