Evolutionary distinctiveness of fatty acid and polyketide synthesis in eukaryotes.

ABSTRACT: Fatty acids, which are essential cell membrane constituents and fuel storage molecules, are thought to share a common evolutionary origin with polyketide toxins in eukaryotes. While fatty acids are primary metabolic products, polyketide toxins are secondary metabolites that are involved in ecologically relevant processes, such as chemical defence, and produce the adverse effects of harmful algal blooms. Selection pressures on such compounds may be different, resulting in differing evolutionary histories. Surprisingly, some studies of dinoflagellates have suggested that the same enzymes may catalyse these processes. Here we show the presence and evolutionary distinctiveness of genes encoding six key enzymes essential for fatty acid production in 13 eukaryotic lineages for which no previous

SUBMITTER: Kohli GS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5029157 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature