SORGOdb: Superoxide Reductase Gene Ontology curated DataBase

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Genomics
• Bioinformatics

Background:

• Superoxide reductases (SOR) are crucial for oxidative stress defense in anaerobic organisms.
• Recent discovery of SOR genes has led to annotation challenges due to their short length and heterogeneous transfer of information from related proteins.
• Many superoxide reductase genes remain unannotated or misannotated, hindering functional studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create a comprehensive database (SORGOdb) for superoxide reductases.
• To propose a novel classification system for SOR based on domain architecture.
• To improve the annotation and accessibility of information regarding SOR genes.

Main Methods:

• Development of a user-friendly, web-based database (SORGOdb).
• Re-annotation of SOR genes across all available prokaryotic and eukaryotic genome sequences.
• Implementation of query functions including organism name, locus tag, phylogenetic criteria, and BlastP sequence similarity searches.

Main Results:

• SORGOdb curates 325 non-redundant SOR sequences from 274 organisms.
• A new classification system categorizes SOR into seven distinct classes.
• The database facilitates exploration and analysis of SOR genes and their potential correlation with organism phenotypes.

Conclusions:

• SORGOdb provides a valuable resource for studying superoxide reductases.
• The proposed classification aids in understanding the diversity and function of SOR.
• The database enables researchers to investigate links between SOR classes and organism characteristics.