Origins and Relatedness of Microbial CYPs

CYPs have a role in bacteria to enable growth on carbon sources in the environment, such as on camphor by P. putida containing CYPlOl, or to undertake secondary metabolism as part of the biochemical warfare between organisms. Many CYPs are found in the pathways synthesizing important therapeutic compounds and this is discussed later in this chapter. The number of vital endogenous steps that have evolved for bacterial CYP function is still very small for instance, Biol in Bacillus subtilis is needed to produce biotin by a pathway distinct from other bacteria. Some CYPs, among the numerous forms uncovered, must be anticipated to be involved in key areas of endogenous metabolism especially in the 

Prokaryotes (most have no CYPs) Campylobacter jejuni I 

Eukaryotes (usually have CYPs) Schizosaccharomyces pombe 2 

The further evolution of CYPs must in some cases have included gene duplication events, including involving CYP51 individually, besides 

Another CYPSl-Vikc gene was identified in the emerging genome of S. coelicolor A3(2) and the protein had sterol 14-demethylase activity, but was not essential when the gene was knocked out and no sterols are made by this microbe . This gene has been assigned to a different family (CYP170A1) and the protein shares 23 of the conserved amino acids across CYPSls, whereas the other CYPSls share approximately 40 amino acids. 

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