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Identification of a very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid Δ4‐desaturase from the microalga Pavlova lutheri 1
Author(s) -
To Thierry,
Harvey David,
Larson Tony R,
Graham Ian A
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/s0014-5793(03)01078-0
Subject(s) - polyunsaturated fatty acid , docosahexaenoic acid , eicosapentaenoic acid , biochemistry , yeast , complementary dna , fatty acid desaturase , heterologous expression , biology , fatty acid , linoleic acid , chemistry , food science , stereochemistry , gene , recombinant dna
Pavlova lutheri , a marine microalga, is rich in the very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLCPUFAs) eicosapentaenoic (20:5n‐3) and docosahexaenoic (22:6n‐3) acids. Using an expressed sequence tag approach, we isolated a cDNA designated Pldes1 , and encoding an amino acid sequence showing high similarity with polyunsaturated fatty acid front‐end desaturases. Heterologous expression in yeast demonstrated that PlDES1 desaturated 22:5n‐3 and 22:4n‐6 into 22:6n‐3 and 22:5n‐6 respectively, and was equally active on both substrates. Thus, PlDES1 is a novel VLCPUFA Δ4‐desaturase. Pldes1 expression is four‐fold higher during the mid‐exponential phase of growth compared to late exponential and stationary phases.