Cytochrome P450s in the sugarcane Saccharum spontaneum

The Cytochrome P450 gene family is one of the largest in plants. Cytochrome P450 sequences have been annotated in the Saccharum spontaneum genome and they make up 1.3% of the known alleles. 394 genes have been identified in this family after mining two releases of the S. spontaneum AP85-441 genome. The P450 sequences are most similar to those of sorghum. The 45 CYP families in sugarcane have been compared to sorghum P450s. CYP51 was the most similar sequence at 98.6%. Average percent identity to the best plant blast match was 86%. Three of the 45 CYP families show modest gene expansion. CYP71 has 15 more genes CYP76 has 12 more genes and CYP81 has 6 more genes than sorghum. The other families are identical or within 4 genes, showing a strong similarity between P450s in the two species. Alleles have been assigned for this tetraploid genome. Only 32% of the genes still have four alleles.