Identification of a very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid Δ4‐desaturase from the microalga Pavlova lutheri

FEBS Letters

Tonon, Thierry¹  Larson, Tony R¹  Graham, Ian A¹  Harvey, David¹ 

[1] CNAP, Department of Biology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5YW, UK

关键词: Very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid;    Docosahexaenoic acid;    Δ4-Desaturase;    Pavlova lutheri;    DHA;    docosahexaenoic acid;    EST;    expressed sequence tag;    EPA;    eicosapentaenoic acid;    FAME;    fatty acid methyl ester;    RACE;    rapid amplification of cDNA ends;    RT;    reverse transcription;    VLCPUFA;    very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid;   

DOI  :  10.1016/S0014-5793(03)01078-0

学科分类：生物化学/生物物理

来源: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

【 摘 要 】

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.

【 授权许可】

Unknown