Identification of antioxidant gene in Caenorhabditis elegans through computational approaches

Antioxidants are the substances when present in the low concentration compared to that of oxidizable substrate significantly delay or prevent oxidation of that substrate. In human total >100 genes known that have antioxidant properties but despite of being 60% similarities of genomes of Caenorhabditis elegans with Homo sapiens only five gene named Prdx-3, Y38, CIAA, clk-1, gro-1 are known which shows antioxidant properties in Caenorhabditis elegans. Such similarity index shows that some other unknown genes of Caenorhabditis elegans must also have antioxidant properties that are still not known. For identification of other unknown genes in Caenorhabditis elegans that attains antioxidant properties, BLAST of known antioxidant genes in Homo sapiens against genome of Caenorhabditis elegans at Worm database was performed, significant results are found, identification of a locus in Caenorhabditis elegans named K08D12 that showed good homology with JUND gene present in Homo sapiens whose gene ID 3727 that is present on chromosome 19pl3.2. JUND activates transcription of the human ferritin H gene through an antioxidant response element during oxidative stress. Identification of such new antioxidant gene in Caenorhabditis elegans will boost the research areas as this worm in current time is used as a unique model organism for research.