Crystal structure determination of Superoxide Dismutase from C. elegans.

Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) is a key enzyme that is responsible for removing harmful oxygen radicals from cells by catalysing their breakdown into hydrogen peroxide and water. The synchrotron radiation at Diamond was used to determine the molecular structure of a SOD which contains the metal manganese from the parasitic worm C. elegans. The structure will help us understand how the enzyme works and how it chooses manganese over other metals. The picture shows the four protein chains in different colours, with the manganese ions in pink.

Data were collected at Diamond I03 beamline, in May 2007

Protein chains

Emma E. Stewart¹, Chi H. Trinh¹, Therese Hunter², Gary J. Hunter² and Simon E.V. Phillips¹,
¹ Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT
² Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, University of Malta, Msida, Malta