| Title |
Fatty Acid Biosynthesis in Eukaryotic Photosynthetic Microalgae: Identification of a Microsomal Delta 12 Desaturase in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii |
| Author |
Xiaoyuan Chi1,2, Xiaowen Zhang1,2, Xiangyu Guan3, Ling Ding1,2, Youxun Li1,2, Mingqing Wang3, Hanzhi Lin1,2, and Song Qin1* |
| Address |
1Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, P. R. China, 2Graduate University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, P. R. China, 3College of Marine Life Science, Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, P. R. China |
| Bibliography |
Journal of Microbiology, 46(2),189-201, 2008,
|
| DOI |
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| Key Words |
fatty acid desaturase, eukaryotic photosynthetic microalgae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii |
| Abstract |
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are important components of infant and adult nutrition because they serve as structural elements of cell membranes. Fatty acid desaturases are responsible for the insertion of double bonds into pre-formed fatty acid chains in reactions that require oxygen and reducing equivalents. In this study, the genome-wide characterization of the fatty acid desaturases from seven eukaryotic photosynthetic microalgae was undertaken according to the conserved histidine-rich motifs and phylogenetic profiles. Analysis of these genomes provided insight into the origin and evolution of the pathway of fatty acid biosynthesis in eukaryotic plants. In addition, the candidate enzyme from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii with the highest similarity to the microsomal Δ12 desaturase of Chlorella vulgaris was isolated, and its function was verified by heterologous expression in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). |
