Role of Sod Gene in Response to Static Magnetic Fields in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The protective role of superoxide dismutase (SOD) against non-ionizing radiation such as static electromagnetic field (200 mT) has been studied in wild-type and mutant strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa lacking cytosolic Mn-SOD (sodM), Fe-SOD (sodB), or both SODs (sodMB). Our results showed that inactivation of sodM and/or sodB genes increases the sensitivity of P. aeruginosa toward stress induced by the static magnetic field (200 mT). Furthermore, our results showed an enhancement of SOD, catalase, and peroxidases after exposure to the magnetic field. However, wild-type cells maintained significantly higher activities of antioxidant enzymes than mutant strains. The malondialdehyde produced by the oxidative degradation of unsaturated lipids and fatty acids showed significant increase in mutant strains compared to the wild-type. The overall results showed that the SOD has a protective role against a stress induced by static electromagnetic field in P. aeruginosa.