Pleurotus ostreatus heme peroxidases: An in silico analysis from the genome sequence to the enzyme molecular structure

An exhaustive screening of the Pleurotus ostreatus genome was performed to search for nucleotide sequences of heme peroxidases in this white-rot fungus, which could be useful for different biotechnological applications. After sequence identification and manual curation of the corresponding genes and cDNAs, the deduced amino acid sequences were converted into structural homology models. A comparative study of these sequences and their structural models with those of known fungal peroxidases revealed the complete inventory of heme peroxidases of this fungus. This consists of cytochrome c peroxidase and ligninolytic peroxidases, including manganese peroxidase and versatile peroxidase but not lignin peroxidase, as representative of the “classical” superfamily of plant, fungal, and bacterial peroxidases; and members of two relatively “new” peroxidase superfamilies, namely heme-thiolate peroxidases, here described for the first time in a fungus from the genus Pleurotus, and dye-decolorizing peroxidases, already known in P. ostreatus but still to be thoroughly explored and characterized.