CYP51-LIKE GENE OF MYCOBACTERIUM-TUBERCULOSIS ACTUALLY ENCODES A P450SIMILAR TO EUKARYOTIC CYP51

A CYP51-like gene (Z80226) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was expressed in Escherichia coli. The product exhibited absorption spectra charact eristic of P450, The expressed P450 formed a stoichiometric complex wi th ketoconazole, one of the specific ligands of CYP51. These findings indicate that the CYP51-like gene of M. tuberculosis actually encodes a P450 having active-site environments similar to those of CYP51, conf irming the predicted orthologous nature of this gene to eukaryotic CYP 51, Although eukaryotic CYP51s are membrane-binding proteins, the expr essed product was accumulated only in the soluble fraction of the host cells.