Expression and characterization of two new alkane inducible cytochrome P450s from Trichoderma harzianum

n-Dodecane and fatty acids were good inducers of cytochrome P450 (CYP) and the x-hydroxylase of lauric acid, which is a marker for x-hydroxylation of n-alkanes, in Trichoderma harzianum. A cDNA, containing an ORF of 1520 bp, encoding a CYP52 of 520 amino acids, was isolated by RACE. Another n-alkane-inducible CYP was identified by LLC-MS/MS analysis of a microsomal protein band induced by n-dodecane in a library of T. harzianum. This suggests that T. harzianum has a CYP-dependent conversion of alkanes to fatty acids allowing their incorporation into lipids.