Biodiversity of the P450 catalytic cycle: yeast cytochrome b5/NADH cytochrome b5 reductase complex efficiently drives the entire sterol 14‐demethylation (CYP51) reaction

Abstract
The widely accepted catalytic cycle of cytochromes P450 (CYP) involves the electron transfer from NADPH cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR), with a potential for second electron donation from the microsomal cytochrome b 5/NADH cytochrome b 5 reductase system. The latter system only supported CYP reactions inefficiently. Using purified proteins including Candida albicans CYP51 and yeast NADPH cytochrome P450 reductase, cytochrome b 5 and NADH cytochrome b 5 reductase, we show here that fungal CYP51 mediated sterol 14α‐demethylation can be wholly and efficiently supported by the cytochrome b 5/NADH cytochrome b 5 reductase electron transport system. This alternative catalytic cycle, where both the first and second electrons were donated via the NADH cytochrome b 5 electron transport system, can account for the continued ergosterol production seen in yeast strains containing a disruption of the gene encoding CPR.

This publication has 35 references indexed in Scilit: