Entomology, Ornithology & Herpetology: Current Research
Open Access

Abstract

Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) Cytochrome P450 (P450) Supergene Family: Phylogenetic Analyses and Exon-Intron Organization

Raghavendra K, Niranjan Reddy BP and Prasad GBKS

The cytochrome P450 superfamily is involved mainly in developmental processes and xenobiotic metabolism in insects. Analysis of the Anopheles gambiae genome has shown 105 putatively active P450 genes that are distributed in four major clans, namely mitochondrial, CYP2, CYP3, and CYP4. In the present study, phylogenetic analysis using multiple methodologies, exon-intron organization, correlation between genes in gene clusters and their gene organizations were analyzed. Further to this, usability of intronic positions in deciphering the evolutionary relatedness among the members of AgP450 supergene family was studied. The results show that the AgP450 supergene family is evolved through the complex process of duplications followed by structural-functional evolution. This supergene family might have undergone numerous intron-losses and gains during the process of evolution. However, this process is closely related with the evolutionary relationship among the members of the AgP450 supergene family. Furthermore, this study identifies the need of in-depth study to elucidate the functional importance of the conserved intron in CYP6 family.