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Mead acid (MA; 20:3ω9) is one of the ω9 series of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). MA is used to inhibit the inflammation of joints and is applied to the medicinal or health food field. We aimed to construct MA-producing strains with disruption of the Δ12-desaturase gene (Δ1 2ds) via an efficient gene-targeting system using the lig4 -disrupted strain of Mortierella alpina 1S-4 as the host. The transformants showed a unique fatty acid composition that only comprised ω9-PUFAs and saturated fatty acids, while ω6-and ω3-PUFAs were not detected, and the total composition of ω9-PUFAs, including oleic acid (18:1ω9), 18:2ω9, 20:1ω9, 20:2ω9, and MA, was up to 68.4% of the total fatty acids. The MA production in the Δ1 2ds -disruptant reached 0.10 g/L (8.5%), which exceeded 0.050 g/L (4.6%) in the conventional Δ1 2ds -defective mutant JT-180. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The filamentous fungus Mortierella alpina 1S-4 is capable of accumulating a large amount of triacylglycerol containing C20 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Indeed, triacylglycerol production by M. alpina 1S-4 can reach 20 g/L of culture broth, and the critical cellular signaling and structural PUFA arachidonic acid (ARA) comprises 30%–70% of the total fatty acid. The demonstrated health benefits of functional PUFAs have in turn encouraged the search for rich sources of these compounds, including fungal strains showing enhanced production of specific PUFAs. Screening for mutants and targeted gene manipulation of M. alpina 1S-4 have elucidated the functions of various enzymes involved in PUFA biosynthesis and established lines with improved PUFA productivity. In some cases, these strains have been used for indistrial-scale production of PUFAs, including ARA. In this review, we described practical ARA production through mutant breeding, functional analyses of genes encoding enzymes involved in PUFA biosynthesis, and recent advances in the production of specific PUFAs through molecular breeding of M. alpina 1S-4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oil-producing zygomycete Mortierella alpina 1S-4 is known to accumulate beneficial polyunsaturated fatty acids. We identified the lig4 gene that encodes for a DNA ligase 4 homolog, which functions to repair double strand breaks by non-homologous end joining. We disrupted the lig4 gene to improve the gene targeting efficiency in M. alpina . The M. alpina 1S-4 Δlig4 strains showed no defect in vegetative growth, formation of spores, and fatty acid production, but exhibited high sensitivity to methyl methansulfonate, an agent that causes DNA double-strand breaks. Importantly, gene replacement of ura5 marker by CBXB marker occurred in 67% of Δlig4 strains and the gene targeting efficiency was 21-fold greater than that observed in disruption of the lig4 gene in the M. alpina 1S-4 host strain. Further metabolic engineering of the Δlig4 strains is expected to result in strains that produce higher levels of rare and beneficial polyunsaturated fatty acids and contribute to basic research on the zygomycete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A ω3-fatty acid desaturase gene (maw3) which is involved in biosynthesis of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) was previously isolated from Mortierella alpina 1S-4. In this report, we investigated the products of MAW3 catalyzing reaction with endogenous and exogenous fatty acids in the yeast transformant. Two unusual fatty acids de novo synthesized in the yeast transformant expressing maw3 gene were identified as n-4 hexadecadienoic acid (16:29cis,12cis ) and n-1 hexadecatrienoic acid (16:39cis,12cis,15) by GC–MS and 1H NMR analyses. In addition to the desaturation activity at the ω3-position for 18- and 20-carbon PUFAs, MAW3 in the yeast transformant inserted a double bond at Δ12-position of endogenous palmitoleic acid (16:19cis ) and further at Δ15-position of the resulting 16:29cis,12cis to result in the formation of 16:39cis,12cis,15 leading to a bifunctional Δ12/Δ15-desaturase for 16-carbon fatty acids. Moreover, we evaluated the activity of MAW3 in the yeast transformant under different temperatures. The MAW3 did not have desaturation activities in M. alpina 1S-4 at 28°C but it had in the yeast transformant for various fatty acids. The MAW3 was demonstrated to be a trifunctional Δ12/Δ15/ω3-desaturase, exhibiting Δ12-desaturation for 16:19cis , Δ15-desaturation for 16- and 18-carbon fatty acids that had a preexisting cis-double bond at Δ12 position, and ω3-desaturation for 20-carbon fatty acids having that at Δ14-position. It is the first report that the fatty acid desaturase (MAW3) is shown to have Δ12- and Δ15-desaturation activities for a 16-carbon fatty acid, in addition to its major function, ω3-desaturation activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ω3-Docosapentaenoic acid (ω3-DPA), an ω3-polyunsaturated fatty acid (ω3-PUFA), is expected to have beneficial physiological functions to humans; however, because of its rarity in nature, it has not been fully analyzed. We isolated an ω3-DPA producing microorganism strain T7 from brackish areas in Japan. Although most oleaginous microorganisms rarely accumulate ω3-DPA (<5% of total lipid), strain T7 accumulated ω3-DPA with more than 20% of total fatty acids. The strain T7 was identified as a related species of Aurantiochytrium. In Aurantiochytrium sp. T7, ω3-DPA production reached 164 mg/L culture broth, and the ω3-DPA content reached 23.5% of the total fatty acids when cultivated in a medium containing 2% glucose as the carbon source and 1% yeast extract as the nitrogen source, with a salinity equivalent to 50% of that of seawater and a pH in the acidic range (pH < 5.5). Aurantiochytrium sp. T7 is a promising producer of high-purity ω3-DPA containing-lipid for the functional analysis of ω3-DPA whose physiological function has hardly been elucidated, and a useful strain for investigating the novel metabolic pathway of fatty acids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]