A complete enzymatic capacity for biosynthesis of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22 : 6n-3) exists in the marine Harpacticoida copepod Tigriopus californicus.

ABSTRACT: The long-standing paradigm establishing that global production of Omega-3 (n-3) long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) derived almost exclusively from marine single-cell organisms, was recently challenged by the discovery that multiple invertebrates possess methyl-end (or ωx) desaturases, critical enzymes enabling the biosynthesis of n-3 LC-PUFA. However, the question of whether animals with ωx desaturases have complete n-3 LC-PUFA biosynthetic pathways and hence can contribute to the production of these compounds in marine ecosystems remained unanswered. In the present study, we investigated the complete enzymatic complement involved in the n-3 LC-PUFA biosynthesis in Tigriopus californicus, an intertidal harpacticoid copepod. A total of two ωx desatu

SUBMITTER: Kabeya N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8080000 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature