PURIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CYTOSOLIC CYTOCHROME-P450 FORMS FROM YEASTS BELONGING TO THE GENUS TRICHOSPORON

The yeast Trichosporon spec. SBUG 752 isolated from soil produced cyto chrome P450 during the stationary phase of growth on glucose. After ce ll disruption and ultracentrifugation, large amounts of P450 (250 pmol /mg protein) were found in the cytosolic fraction. In contrast, no P45 0 was detectable in the microsomes. Similar results were also obtained from some other yeast species of the genus Trichosporon, After purifi cation to electrophoretic homogeneity, the P450 from Trichosporon spec , SBUG 752 migrated in SDS-PAGE with an apparent M-r of 43,000, Final purification by isoelectric focusing yielded two different isoenzymes in their spectrally active state-P450(TS1) and P450(TS2)-having pI val ues of 5.9 and 6.2, respectively, Partial N-terminal amino acid sequen cing revealed a high degree of sequence homology between P450(TS1) and P450(TS2) and their close relationship to the soluble P450 forms of t he CYP55 family which are known to act as nitric oxide reductases in s ome filamentous fungi. The P450(TS1) from Trichosporon spec, SBUG 752 catalyzed nitric oxide reduction under anaerobic conditions in an NADH - and NADPH-dependent manner-an activity not yet described for yeasts. These results demonstrate the existence of soluble P450 forms in yeas ts exhibiting functional and structural characteristics similar to tho se of the P450 forms of the CYP55 family. (C) 1998 Academic Press.