Laccases (EC 1.10.3.2), a group of multi-copper oxidases (MCOs), play multiple biological functions and widely exist in many species. Fungal laccases have been extensively studied for their industrial applications, however, there was no database specially focused on fungal laccases. To provide a comparative genomics platform for fungal laccases, we have developed a comparative genomics platform for laccases and MCOs (http://laccase.riceblast.snu.ac.kr/). Based on protein domain profiles of characterized sequences, 3,571 laccases were predicted from 690 genomes including 253 fungi. The number of putative laccases and their properties exhibited dynamic distribution across the taxonomy. A total of 505 laccases from 68 genomes were selected and subjected to phylogenetic analysis. As a result, four clades comprised of nine subclades were phylogenetically grouped by their putative functions and analyzed at the sequence level. Our work would provide a workbench for putative laccases mainly focused on the fungal kingdom as well as a new perspective in the identification and classification of putative laccases and MCOs.

NADPH oxidases (Noxes), transmembrane proteins found in most eukaryotic species, generate reactive oxygen species and are thereby involved in essential biological processes. However, the fact that genes encoding ferric reductases and ferric-chelate reductases share high sequence similarities and domains with Nox genes represents a challenge for bioinformatic approaches used to identify Nox-encoding genes. Further, most studies on fungal Nox genes have focused mainly on functionality, rather than sequence properties, and consequently clear differentiation among the various Nox isoforms has not been achieved. We conducted an extensive sequence analysis to identify putative Nox genes among 34 eukaryotes, including 28 fungal genomes and one Oomycota genome. Analyses were performed with respect to phylogeny, transmembrane helices, di-histidine distance and glycosylation. Our analyses indicate that the sequence properties of fungal Nox genes are different from those of human and plant Nox genes, thus providing novel insight that will enable more accurate identification and characterization of fungal Nox genes.
Biological Processes ; Computer Simulation* ; Eukaryota ; Genome ; Genome, Fungal ; Glycosylation ; Humans ; NADP ; NADPH Oxidase* ; Oomycetes ; Oxidoreductases ; Phylogeny ; Plants ; Protein Isoforms ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Sequence Analysis*