Purification and Characterization of Fe-Containing Superoxide Dismutase from Methanobrevibacter arboriphilus Strain AZ

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A. L. Brioukhanov^1,2*, V. J. Nesatyy², and A. I. Netrusov¹

¹Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119992 Moscow, Russia; fax: (495) 939-2763; E-mail: brjuchanov@mail.ru

²Department of Environmental Toxicology, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), Dübendorf CH-8600, Switzerland

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received March 15, 2005

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Superoxide dismutase (SOD) was purified from cells of the strict anaerobic methanogenic archaeon Methanobrevibacter arboriphilus strain AZ. The four-step purification procedure resulted in enzyme with specific activity of 3970 units/mg and yield of 22%. It was shown that the SOD is a Fe-containing homotetramer composed of subunits of 21.2 kD each. Sodium azide (13.5 mM), unlike KCN, inhibits the activity of the SOD. Hydrogen peroxide (0.5 mM) inactivates the enzyme, which is consistent with the properties of the known Fe-containing SODs from methanogenic Archaea.

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KEY WORDS: superoxide dismutase (SOD), Methanobrevibacter, methanogenic Archaea, anaerobes

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297906040134

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