Sequence analysis of novel CYP4 transcripts from Mytilus galloprovincialis

Cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs) are essential components of cellular detoxification system. We identified and characterized seven new cytochrome P450 gene transcript clusters in the populations of bivalve mollusc Mytilus galloprovincialis from three different locations. The phylogenetic analysis identified all transcripts as clusters within the CYP4 branch. Identified clusters, each comprising a number of transcript variants, were designated CYP4Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4, Y5, Y6 and Y7. Transcript clusters CYP4Y2 and Y7, and CYP4Y5 and Y6 showed site specificity, while the transcript clusters CYP4Y1, Y3 and Y4 were present at all investigated locations. The comparison of transcripts deduced amino acid sequences with CYP4s from vertebrate and invertebrate species showed high conservation of the residues and domains essential to the putative function of the enzyme, as terminal ω-hydroxylation and prostaglandin hydroxylation. Our results suggest the great expansion of the CYP4Y cDNAs indicative of CYP4 proteins in the mussel M. galloprovincialis presumably as a response to different environmental conditions.