In vivo characterization of the first acyl-CoA Delta6-desaturase from a member of the plant kingdom, the microalga Ostreococcus tauri.

ABSTRACT: Genomic DNA of Ostreococcus tauri, a fully sequenced marine unicellular alga from the phytoplankton, was used to amplify a gene coding for a typical front-end desaturase involved in polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis. Heterologous expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae revealed very high desaturation activity with Delta6-regioselectivity. Short-time kinetic experiments showed that the desaturase product was detected in the acyl-CoA pool 5 min after addition of the exogenous substrate to the yeast medium and long before its appearance in the total fatty acids. When this desaturase was co-expressed with the acyl-CoA Delta6-elongase from Physcomitrella patens and the lipid-linked Delta5-desaturase from Phaeodactylum tricornutum, high proportions of arachidonic or eicosapentaenoic acid we

SUBMITTER: Domergue F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1175126 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature