Functional Significance of Variation in CYP6B4 in Papilio glaucus

小行星9630442 细胞色素P450单加氧酶是参与生物体中外源化合物代谢的酶， 从细菌 到 人类 尽管他们 几乎 普遍分布，很少有人知道这些酶的变化的功能意义。 尽管P450酶在植物毒素和杀虫剂的代谢中很重要，但对昆虫中P450酶的认识差距尤其严重。 在虎凤蝶中，CYP6B4已知代谢呋喃香豆素，这是一种对多种昆虫有毒的植物次生物质。 不像它的亲戚，只吃含有呋喃香豆素的植物，虎燕尾几乎从来没有遇到过这些 毒素在其寄主植物中。 在这个项目中， 研究人员将检查结构的变化， CYP6B4的功能与呋喃香豆素在饮食中出现的频率有关， 虎燕尾 通过检测在存在和不存在天然存在的毒素的情况下酶功能的变化，我们希望能深入了解植物的生长过程取食昆虫发展代谢能力以取食有毒植物，以及细胞色素P450在获得对杀虫剂和其他合成杀虫剂的抗性中发挥重要作用的过程。毒素

9630442 Berenbaum Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases are enzymes involved in the metabolism of foreign compounds in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans. Despite their virtually universal distribution, little is known about the functional significance of variation in these enzymes. This gap in knowledge is particularly acute with respect to P450s in insects, despite the importance of these enzymes in the metabolism of plant toxins as well as insecticides. In the tiger swallowtail, Papilio glaucus, CYP6B4 is known to metabolize furanocoumarins, plant secondary substances that are toxic to a wide variety of insects. Unlike its relatives, which feed exclusively on plants containing furanocoumarins, the tiger swallowtail almost never encounters these toxins in its host plants. In this project, the investigators will examine variation in the structure and function of CYP6B4 in relation to the frequency with which furanocoumarins are encountered in the diet of the tiger swallowtail. By examining variation in enzyme function in the presence and absence of naturally occurring toxins, we hope to gain insight into the process by which plant-feeding insects develop the metabolic capability to feed on toxic plants as well as into the process by which cytochrome P450s assume importance in the acquisition of resistance to insecticides and other synthetic toxins.