Kelly S L, Lamb D C, Kelly D E
Krebs Institute for Biomolecular Research, Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Sheffield University, UK.
FEBS Lett. 1997 Jul 21;412(1):233-5. doi: 10.1016/s0014-5793(97)00785-0.
CYP61 was revealed in the sequencing of the yeast genome on chromosome XIII and was the last member of the CYP superfamily in yeast to be discovered. We show here that besides the housekeeping role in 22-desaturation during ergosterol biosynthesis the enzyme is also that responsible for benzo(a)pyrene metabolism/promutagen activation by yeast in genotoxicity assays. This enzyme may represent an ancestral activity for the superfamily which allowed xenobiotic metabolism for the first time.