The SOD-2 protein is the single active SOD enzyme inC. elegans

Abstract

The nematode C. elegans has a contingent of five sod genes, one of the largest among aerobic organism. Earlier studies revealed each of the five sod genes is capable of making perfectly active SOD proteins in heterologous expressions systems therefore none appears to be a pseudogene. Yet deletion of the entire contingent of sod genes fails to impose any effect on the survival of C. elegans except these animals appear more sensitive to extraneously applied oxidative stress condition. We asked how many of the five sod genes are actually active in C. elegans through an in-gel SOD activity analysis. Here we provide evidence that out of the five genes only the mitochondrial SOD gene is active in C. elegans, albeit at a much lesser amount compared to D. melanogaster and E. coli. Mutant analysis further confirmed that among the mitochondrial forms, SOD-2 is the only naturally active SOD in C. elegans.

Structured Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) Enhances Motility and Promotes the Antioxidant Capacity of Aged C. elegans

“…Secondly, glutathione concentration was monitored, as DHA is supposed to improve GSH synthesis [14]. The method quantified total glutathione since oxidized glutathione (GSSG) is converted to GSH by glutathione reductase (GR), but the ratio GSH:GSSG is expected to be 70:1 in young C. elegans adults [59]; hence, the results in Figure 5B represent mostly GSH levels. Treatments do not significantly enhance GSH synthesis compared to vehicle, but interestingly, the highest levels of glutathione were seen at 12 days of adulthood, which correlates with the lowest lipid peroxidation levels.…”