title: The chemically inducible plant cytochrome P450 CYP76B1 actively metabolizes phenylureas and other xenobiotics
abstract: Cytochrome P450s (P450s) constitute one of the major classes of enzymes that are responsible for detoxification of exogenous molecules both in animals and plants. On the basis of its inducibility by exogenous chemicals, we recently isolated a new plant P450, CYP76B1, from Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) and showed that it was capable of dealkylating a model xenobiotic compound, 7-ethoxycoumarin. In the present paper we show that CYP76B1 is more strongly induced by foreign compounds than other P450s isolated from the same plant, and metabolizes with high efficiency a wide range of xenobiotics, including alkoxycoumarins, alkoxyresorufins, and several herbicides of the class of phenylureas. CYP76B1 catalyzes the double N-dealkylation of phenylureas with turnover rates comparable to those reported for physiological substrates and produces nonphytotoxic compounds. Potential uses for CYP76B1 thus include control of herbicide tolerance and selectivity, as well as soil and groundwater bioremediation.
authors.affiliation: Departement d'Enzymologie Cellulaire et Moleculaire, Institut de Biologie Moleculaire des Plantes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unite Propre de Recherche 406, 28 rue Goethe, F-67000 Strasbourg, France (T.R., Y.B., F.C.-H., M.L.,
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Robineau
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Batard
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nedelkina
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cabello-Hurtado
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: LeRet
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sorokine
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Didierjean
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Werck-Reichhart