Homology modeling and evolutionary trace analysis of superoxide dismutase from extremophile Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

The gene sod in Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans may play a crucial role in its tolerance to the extremely acidic, toxic and oxidative environment of bioleaching. For insight into the anti-toxic mechanism of the bacteria, a three-dimensional (3D) molecular structure of the protein encoded by this gene was built by homology modeling techniques, refined by molecular dynamics simulations, assessed by PROFILE-3D and PROSTAT programs and its key residues were further detected by evolutionary trace analysis. Through these procedures, some trace residues were identified and spatially clustered. Among them, the residues of Asn38, Gly103 and Glu161 are randomly scattered throughout the mapped structure; interestingly, the other residues are all distinctly clustered in a subgroup near Fe atom. From these results, this gene can be confirmed at 3D level to encode the Fe-depending superoxide dismutase and subsequently play an anti-toxic role. Furthermore, the detected key residues around Fe binding site can be conjectured to be directly responsible for Fe binding and catalytic function. Foundation item: Project(2004CB619201) supported by the National Basic Research Program of China; Project (50321402) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China