Cytochrome P450 enzymes belonging to the CYP4 family from marine invertebrates.

Six new cytochrome P450s assigned to the CYP4 family were identified from marine invertebrates belonging to the arthropod, mollusc, and echinoderm phyla. These are the first reported members of the CYP4 gene family from marine invertebrates, and extends the finding of the CYP4 family of cytochrome P450s to molluscs and echinoderms. Members of each phyla (echinodermata, arthropoda (crustacea), and mollusca) expressed genes belonging to the CYP4C subfamily in their respective digestive tissues. A mollusc, the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, expressed a gene belonging to a new CYP4 subfamily, CYP4Y. In Northern blotting experiments with digestive tissues of M. galloprovincialis, the expression of the CYP4Y1 gene was found to be inhibited by increasing concentrations of the hydrocarbon beta-naphthoflavone. Thus, the potential use of marine invertebrate CYP4 genes as biomarkers of xenobiotic exposures may be warranted.