Open AccessCloning and functional characterization of the fatty acid elongase 1 ( FAE1 ) gene from high erucic Crambe abyssinica cv. Prophet
Author(s) -
Mietkiewska Elzbieta,
Brost Jennifer M.,
Giblin E. Michael,
Barton Dennis L.,
Taylor David C.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
plant biotechnology journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.525
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1467-7652
pISSN - 1467-7644
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-7652.2007.00268.x
Subject(s) - erucic acid , biology , crambe , cloning (programming) , biochemistry , fatty acid , gene , botany , computer science , programming language
Summary A genomic fatty acid elongation 1 ( FAE1 ) clone was isolated from Crambe abyssinica . The genomic clone corresponds to a 1521‐bp open reading frame, which encodes a protein of 507 amino acids. In yeast cells expression of CrFAE led to production of new very long chain monounsaturated fatty acids such as eicosenoic (20 : 1 Δ11 ) and erucic (22 : 1 Δ13 ) acids. Seed‐specific expression in Arabidopsis thaliana resulted in up to a 12‐fold increase in the proportion of erucic acid. On the other hand, in transgenic high‐erucic Brassica carinata plants, the proportion of erucic acid was as high as 51.9% in the best transgenic line, a net increase of 40% compared to wild type. These results indicate that the CrFAE gene encodes a condensing enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of very long‐chain fatty acids utilizing monounsaturated and saturated acyl substrates, with a strong capability for improving the erucic acid content.