ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Biochemical and Molecular Analysis
of Superoxide Dismutase in Sordaria fimicola
and Aspergillus niger Collected
from Different Environments
Muhammad Ishfaq1, Nasir Mahmood2, Idrees A. Nasir3,
Muhammad Saleem1
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1Molecular Genetics Research Laboratory, Department of Botany, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
2Department of Biochemistry; Human Genetics and Molecular Biology, University of Health Sciences,
Lahore, Pakistan
3Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
Submission date: 2016-07-15
Acceptance date: 2016-08-16
Online publication date: 2017-01-31
Publication date: 2017-01-31
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2017;26(1):115-125
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ABSTRACT
We evaluated Sordaria fimicola strains collected from benign and harsh environments of Evolution
Canyon 1 (EC 1) for superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme activity, and analyzed their respective gene
sequences, which were then submitted to the NCBI database for the first time. Ten strains of Aspergillus niger
were used as control in a SOD assay. In enzymatic analysis, among 61 isolates the N6 strain of S. fimicola
was found to be the most efficient as it caused 50% inhibition of NBT (Nitro-blue tetrazolium) reduction
at 20 μg of the SOD protein, while in A. niger, strain 744 showed 60% inhibition of the NBT reduction at
40 μg amount of SOD protein and was found to be most efficient among A. niger. The superoxide dismutase-1
(SOD-1) gene (including exones and introns; 960 bases) was amplified and sequenced from biochemically
efficient strains of S. fimicola viz. N6, N7, S2, S1, and SF13, and submitted to the NCBI database under
accession numbers KM282180, KM282181, KM282179, KM282178, and KM282177, respectively. On
comparison with the reported sequence of Neurospora crassa (M58687.1), a total of 25 base substitutions
and seven amino acids changes were detected in the in silico translated proteins of all five strains of S. fimicola
compared to the reference sequence of N. crassa (M18334.1). The biochemical as well as molecular data of
the study proved that environmental stresses affected the SOD-1 gene by bringing in mutations, which may
result in genomic diversity among their frontier molecules such as proteins. The observed enzymatic activity
of SOD in S. fimicola strains was reported to be even better and was comparable to A. niger strains, and thus
S. fimicola strains can be exploited further for enzymatic production for industrial use.