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Monosiga Cytochrome P450s

D. Nelson Feb. 22, 2008

The Monosiga genus contains members of the Choanoflagellates. These are single celled organisms thought to descend from the common ancestor to all animals.  These cells resemble the collar cells of sponges.

There is a Monosiga brevicollis genome project at JGI. Go there now!

The genome project paper was just published: The genome of the choanoflagellate Monosiga brevicollis and the origin of metazoans.

Nature. 2008 Feb14;451(7180):783-8. Pubmed link PMID:18273011

In addition there is a Monosiga ovata EST project.

A phylogenomic investigation into the origin of Metazoa Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo, Andrew J. Roger, Gertraud Burger,Michael W. Gray and B. Franz Lang. MBE Advance Access published online on January 9, 2008

Molecular Biology and Evolution ,doi:10.1093/molbev/msn006

The Monosiga ovata genome is being sequenced at Washington University: Summary of Monosiga ovata genome project

The P450s assembled from these species are linked below.

Monosiga brevicollis has 9 P450s including CYP51A1 and Monosiga ovata has 8 P450s including CYP51A1.  Most of the other P450s are different between the two species.

M. brevicollis has a CYP745 (similar to Chalmydomonas andVolvox) and it has CYP704 similar to plants and microalgae like Ostreococcus CYP704B1.

It is not clear if these genes are derived from the diet of Monosiga or if they are in the Monosiga genome.  Monosiga does eat algae.

These genes are not found in the ESTs of M. ovata.

CYP745 is found in Proterospongiasp. A colonial choanoflagellate.

M. ovata has a CYP710D1 gene similar to CYP710 sequences from plants.

This sequence is not found in M.brevicollis.

The origin of these plant related sequences in the ancestor of animals is not clear.

Perhaps the ancestor of animals had some plant P450 genes present, or perhaps we are what we eat.