Acta Crystallographica Section F

Structural Biology and Crystallization Communications

Volume 62, Part 11 (November 2006)

protein structure communications

Acta Cryst. (2006). F62, 1072-1075 [ doi:10.1107/S1744309106040425 ]

Structures of PmSOD1 and PmSOD2, two superoxide dismutases from the protozoan parasite Perkinsus marinus

O. A. Asojo, E. J. Schott, G. R. Vasta and A. M. Silva

Abstract: Perkinsus marinus, a facultative intracellular parasite of the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica, is responsible for mass mortalities of oyster populations. P. marinus trophozoites survive and proliferate within oyster hemocytes, invading most tissues and fluids, thus causing a systemic infection that eventually kills the host. The phagocytosis of P. marinus trophozoites lacks a respiratory burst, suggesting that the parasite has mechanisms that actively abrogate the host's oxidative defense responses. One mechanism and the first line of defense against oxidative damage is the dismutation of superoxide radical to molecular oxygen and hydrogen peroxide by superoxide dismutases (SODs). P. marinus possesses two iron-cofactored SODs, PmSOD1 and PmSOD2. Here, the crystallization and X-ray structures of both PmSOD1 and PmSOD2 are presented.

PDB references: 2cw2 and 2cw3

Keywords: superoxide dismutases; Perkinsus marinus.