The fungal glutathione S-transferase system. Evidence of new classes in the wood-degrading basidiomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium.

The recent release of several basidiomycete genome sequences allows an improvement of the classification of fungal glutathione S-transferases (GSTs). GSTs are well-known detoxification enzymes which can catalyze the conjugation of glutathione to non-polar compounds that contain an electrophilic carbon, nitrogen, or sulfur atom. Following this mechanism, they are able to metabolize drugs, pesticides, and many other xenobiotics and peroxides. A genomic and phylogenetic analysis of GST classes in various sequenced fungi--zygomycetes, ascomycetes, and basidiomycetes--revealed some particularities in GST distribution, in comparison with previous analyses with ascomycetes only. By focusing essentially on the wood-degrading basidiomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium, this analysis highlighted a new fungal GST class named GTE, which is related to bacterial etherases, and two new subclasses of the omega class GSTs. Moreover, our phylogenetic analysis suggests a relationship between the saprophytic behavior of some fungi and the number and distribution of some GST isoforms within specific classes.