Cytochrome P450 Biodiversity and Plant Protection

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases play an important role in detoxification and/or activation of xenobiotics including agrochemicals as well as in the modes of action of agrochemicals including fungicides, plant growth regulators, insecticide synergists and herbicide safeners. Current genome sequencing revealed that P450 genes are distributed into the five kingdoms of life: bacteria, protoctista, plants, animals and fungi, and a large number of P450 genes occur in animal and plant species. Particularly, Arabidopsis is estimated to have around 400 genes. Biochemical characterization of these P450 enzymes is important for understanding their physiological functions. In higher plants, Arabidopsis T-DNA mutant lines appear to be useful for analysis of their physiological functions. In addition, the yeast expression system is practically important for analysis of their enzymatic functions. Engineering of transgenic plants expressing certain P450 species is also important for crop breeding with useful traits including selective herbicide tolerance and phytoremediation.