Copper, Zinc-Superoxide Dismutase (Cu/Zn SOD) Gene During Embryogenesis of Bombyx mori: Molecular Cloning, Characterization and Expression

Copper, Zinc-Superoxide Dismutase (Cu/Zn SOD) Gene During Embryogenesis of Bombyx mori: Molecular Cloning, Characterization and Expression

BmCu/Zn SOD was isolated from early embryo of Bombyx mori using microarray analysis. The BmCu/Zn SOD gene was observed during the early embryonic stage with the strongest signal found at the unfertilizaion, fertilization and blastoderm stages. The BmCu/Zn SOD gene encodes a protein of 154 amino acids with a calculated Mr of 15 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence of BmCu/Zn SOD indicated that the residues that form on the Cu/Zn binding site are conserved and that the sequence is a 60% identity to that of M. domestica. In a phylogenetic tree, Bm SOD was also close to Drosophila SODs rather than other insect SODs. The BmCu/Zn SOD gene exists as a single copy in the genome. Transcripts of BmCu/Zn SOD cDNA were identified by northern blot analysis. The expression of the BmCu/Zn SOD gene was observed weakly in most of larvae, pre-pupae, pupae and adult tissues. Also, the BmCu/Zn SOD gene was observed in early embryonic stage. Although the roles of SODs remains to be further elucidated, the high expression of BmCu/Zn SOD gene at before 24 h post fertilization suggests that this gene is of general importance during early embryogenesis in the Bombyx mod.