Genome-Wide Analysis of Cytochrome P450s in Ustilago Species: Annotation and Evolutionary Relationships

Cytochrome P450s (Cyp) belong to the superfamily of hemeprotein monooxygenases that metabolize some essential compounds that could support the life of most organisms. Among fungi, Ustilago species are of significant economic importance, evidently because they are known to cause substantial agricultural losses globally. The study was conducted to establish the profile, diversity, evolutionary relationship, and family and clan classification of Cyp genes of four Ustilago species (U. bullata, U. maydis, U. hordei and U. virens). A total of 77 Cyp protein genes from the mentioned Ustilago species were used in this study. The Cyp genes were clustered into five monophyletic clades. A total of 26 Cyp clans and 35 Cyp families were observed. The distribution of families across Ustilago species were: U. virens (20) Cyp families, U. maydis 521 v2.0 (13) Cyp families, U. hordei Uh4857_4 (10) CYP families and U. bullata UB2112 (12) Cyp families. The Cyp families across Ustilago species were predicted to be associated with primary, secondary and xenobiotic metabolism. Analysis of the subcellular localisations of the cytochrome P450 genes in Ustilago species indicated that 88 % of the proteins were confined within the endoplasmic reticulum. The study showed that only 49 Cyp 450 genes from Ustilago species are connected with five secondary metabolism-related gene clusters (DMAT, NRPS, NRPS-like, PKS, and PKS-Like), which could valuably be harnessed for the downstream applications and management of these important pathogens. This study could provide relevant background knowledge required in the characterization and the description of the organism’s physiology, as well as provide an in-depth insight into the functions of CYPs and diversity research of Ustilago species, which could valuably be harnessed for the downstream applications and management of these important pathogens. Keywords: CYP450, diversity, phylogenetic relatedness, protein genes, Ustilago