1. Characterization of ω3 fatty acid desaturases from oomycetes and their application toward eicosapentaenoic acid production in Mortierella alpina.
- Author
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Mo BKH, Ando A, Nakatsuji R, Okuda T, Takemoto Y, Ikemoto H, Kikukawa H, Sakamoto T, Sakuradani E, and Ogawa J
- Subjects
- Arachidonic Acid biosynthesis, Cloning, Molecular, Fatty Acid Desaturases metabolism, Fatty Acids, Unsaturated classification, Gene Expression, Gene Library, Metabolic Engineering methods, Mortierella enzymology, Oomycetes classification, Oomycetes enzymology, Phylogeny, Plasmids chemistry, Plasmids metabolism, Pythium classification, Pythium enzymology, Saccharomyces cerevisiae enzymology, Saccharomyces cerevisiae genetics, Transformation, Genetic, Transgenes, Eicosapentaenoic Acid biosynthesis, Fatty Acid Desaturases genetics, Fatty Acids, Unsaturated biosynthesis, Mortierella genetics, Oomycetes genetics, Pythium genetics
- Abstract
ω3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids are currently obtained mainly from fisheries; thus, sustainable alternative sources such as oleaginous microorganisms are required. Here, we describe the isolation, characterization, and application of 3 novel ω3 desaturases with ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acid-producing activity at ordinary temperatures (28 °C). First, we selected Pythium sulcatum and Plectospira myriandra after screening for oomycetes with high eicosapentaenoic acid/arachidonic acid ratios and isolated the genes psulω3 and pmd17, respectively, which encode ω3 desaturases. Subsequent characterization showed that PSULω3 exhibited ω3 desaturase activity on both C18 and C20 ω6 polyunsaturated fatty acids while PMD17 exhibited ω3 desaturase activity exclusively on C20 ω6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Expression of psulω3 and pmd17 in the arachidonic acid-producer Mortierella alpina resulted in transformants that produced eicosapentaenoic acid/total fatty acid values of 38% and 40%, respectively, at ordinary temperatures. These ω3 desaturases should facilitate the construction of sustainable ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acid sources., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry.)
- Published
- 2021
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