Investigation of cytochromes P450 in myxobacteria: excavation of cytochromes P450 from the genome of Sorangium cellulosum So ce56.

The exploitation of cytochromes P450 for novel biotechnological application and for the investigation of their physiological function is of great scientific interest in this post genomic era, where an extraordinary biodiversity of P450 genes has been derived from all forms of life. The study of P450s in the myxobacterium Sorangium cellulosum strain So ce56, the producer of novel secondary metabolites of pharmaceutical interest is the research topic, in which we were engaged since the beginning of its genome sequencing project. We herein disclosed the cytochrome P450 complements (CYPomes) of spore-forming myxobacterial species, Stigmatella aurantiaca DW4/3-1, Haliangium ochraceum DSM 14365 and Myxococcus xanthus DK1622, and their potential pharmaceutical significance has been discussed.