Cluster of Cytochrome P450 Genes on the X Chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster

ABSTRACT A new cytochrome P450 gene was found within the wapl-prune genetic region of the Drosophila melanogaster X chromosome. It encodes a putative cytochrome P450 of subfamily 4D and has been designated CYP4D2. CYP4D2 has a complex exon-intron structure. Both the heme-binding motif and a region diagnostic for family 4 are not interrupted by introns. CYP4D2 lies 20 kb proximal to the previously described CYP4D1 gene (Gandhi et al., 1992). In addition to CYP4D1 and CYP4D2, two other DNA fragments homologous to P450 genes are detected within the wapl-prune region.