CLONING OF A POTENTIAL CYTOCHROME-P450 FROM THE ARCHAEON SULFOLOBUS-SOLFATARICUS

A gene, CYP119, for a potential cytochrome P450 has been isolated and sequenced from the extreme acidothermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfa taricus. The gene predicts a polypeptide of 368 amino adds containing the consensus heme-binding sequence ly-Xaa-His-Xaa-Cys-Xaa-Gly-Xaa(3)- Ala-Arg-Xaa-Glu. It most closely resembles the cytochrome P450s found in the bacterium Bacillus subtilis, with which it shares 129 identical amino acid residues (35%). This first sequence of a potential archaea l cytochrome P450 represents an important step in tracing the complex evolutionary history of this biologically important enzyme family.