Diversity of cytochrome P450 genes in the mosquito, Anopheles albimanus

Degenerate oligonucleotide primers were designed for conserved regions of cytochrome P450 proteins of the CYP4 family and were used to amplify cDNA or genomic DNA from different strains of the New World malaria vector, Anopheles albimanus (Weidemann). The PCR products were cloned, sequenced and compared to each other and to members of the P450 family CYP4. Seventeen new P450 genes were identified in five CYP4 subfamilies. Five of the ten PCR products of genomic DNA were shown to contain a short (60-79 bp) intron at the same position as introns in the Drosophila CYP4D2 and CYP4E1 genes.