Overexpression of endogenous delta-6 fatty acid desaturase gene enhances eicosapentaenoic acid accumulation in Phaeodactylum tricornutum

The effect of overexpression of endogenous delta-6 fatty acid desaturase gene (ER<DELTA>6FAD) on eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) production and total lipid content was investigated in Phaeodactylum tricornutum. All three randomly selected transformants exhibited significant increase (47.66%) in their EPA content, which reached up to 38.101 mg/g DW in algal strain D63. The total lipid content of all the three transformants was significantly higher (16.40–18.64%) than that of the wild-type strain. These findings suggested that the reaction catalyzed by ER<DELTA>6FAD is a limiting step for EPA biosynthesis, overexpression of endogenous ER<DELTA>6FAD gene is an effective method for improving EPA production in eukaryotic microalgae, and fatty acid metabolic pathway in microalgae can be genetically modified.     

Identification and characterization of an animal delta(12) fatty acid desaturase gene by heterologous expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We have cloned a Caenorhabditis elegans cDNA encoding a Delta12 fatty acid desaturase and demonstrated its activity by heterologous expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The predicted protein is highly homologous both to the cloned plant genes with similar function and to the published sequence of the C. elegans omega-3 fatty acid desaturase. In addition, it conforms to the structural constraints expected of a membrane-bound fatty acid desaturase including the canonical histidine-rich regions. This is the first report of a cloned animal Delta(12) desaturase gene. Expression of this cDNA in yeast resulted in the accumulation of 16:2 and 18:2 (linoleic) acids. The increase of membrane fluidity brought about by this change in unsaturation was measured. The production of polyunsaturated fatty acids in yeast cells and the concomitant increase in membrane fluidity was correlated with a modest increase in growth rate at low temperature and with increased resistance to ethanol and oxidative stress.     

A second functional delta5 fatty acid desaturase in the cellular slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum.

A cDNA with homology to fatty acid desaturases was selected by searching the cDNA data bank of Dictyostelium discoideum (http://www. csm.biol.tsukuba.ac.jp/cDNAproject.html) with conserved histidine box motifs. Using this sequence, genomic DNA encoding the Delta5 desaturase was amplified from the genomic DNA of D. discoideum, and its desaturase activity was confirmed by the overexpression mutation in D. discoideum and the gain-of-function mutation in yeast. The cloned cDNA is 1565 nucleotides in length, and the deduced amino-acid sequence comprised 467 amino-acid residues containing an N-terminal cytochrome b5 domain that shared 43% identity with cytochrome b5 of Oryza sativa. The whole sequence was 42% identical to the Delta5 desaturase of Mortierella alpina. This desaturase is a novel member of the cytochrome b5-containing Delta5 fatty acid desaturase. As we have already reported one other Delta5 desaturase in Dictyostelium, this organism is the first to be confirmed as having two functional Delta5 fatty acid desaturase genes. The substrate specificities of the two functional Delta5 desaturases of D. discoideum were also examined.     

Evidence of isozymes for delta6 fatty acid desaturase in rat hepatocytes

The expression of delta6 fatty acid desaturase, previously identified, was suppressed almost completely by hyper expression of the corresponding antisense gene in a transformant of the rat hepatic cell line BRL-3A. Conversion rates of [1-14C] linoleic acid, alpha-linolenic acid, and tetracosapentaenoic acid into the respective delta6 fatty acids were equivalent to those in control cells. This finding suggested that all of these reactions were catalyzed by at least two delta6 desaturase isozymes in rat hepatocytes.     

The OLE1 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes the delta 9 fatty acid desaturase and can be functionally replaced by the rat stearoyl-CoA desaturase gene

Strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae bearing the ole1 mutation are defective in unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) synthesis and require UFAs for growth. A previously isolated yeast genomic fragment complementing the ole1 mutation has been sequenced and determined to encode the delta 9 fatty acid desaturase enzyme by comparison of primary amino acid sequence to the rat liver stearoyl-CoA desaturase. The OLE1 structural gene encodes a protein of 510 amino acids (251 hydrophobic) having an approximate molecular mass of 57.4 kDa. A 257-amino acid internal region of the yeast open reading frame aligns with and shows 36% identity and 60% similarity to the rat liver stearoyl-CoA desaturase protein. This comparison disclosed three short regions of high consecutive amino acid identity (greater than 70%) including one 11 of 12 perfect residue match. The predicted yeast enzyme contains at least four potential membrane-spanning regions and several shorter hydrophobic regions that align exactly with similar sequences in the rat liver protein. An ole1 gene-disrupted yeast strain was transformed with a yeast-rat chimeric gene consisting of the promoter region and N-terminal 27 codons of OLE1 fused to the rat desaturase coding sequence. Fusion gene transformants displayed near equivalent growth rates and modest lipid composition changes relative to wild type yeast control implying a significant conservation of delta 9 desaturase tertiary structure and efficient interaction between the rat desaturase and yeast cytochrome b5.     

小眼虫藻Δ8-脂肪酸脱氢酶基因的克隆及其在酿酒酵母中的表达

Δ8途径是合成多不饱和脂肪酸的替代途径,Δ8-脂肪酸脱氢酶是该途径的关键酶之一。根据已报道的Δ8-脂肪酸脱氢酶基因设计引物,分别从小眼虫藻基因组DNA和cDNA中扩增得到该基因片段,序列分析表明：结构基因长1 266 bp,编码421个氨基酸;该基因没有内含子,比已经报道的Δ8-脂肪酸脱氢酶基因长6 bp,并且N末端序列也有所不同。利用酿酒酵母的载体pYES2.0构建Δ8-脂肪酸脱氢酶表达载体pYEFD,并转化到营养缺陷型酿酒酵母菌株INVSc1中,在选择培养基中筛选得到酿酒酵母转化菌株YD8。YD8在合适的培养条件下,添加外源底物二十碳二烯酸和二十碳三烯酸并诱导基因表达。脂肪酸甲酯气相色谱分析表明小眼虫藻Δ8-脂肪酸脱氢酶基因在酿酒酵母中获得了高效表达,将二十碳二烯酸和二十碳三烯酸分别转化成二高-γ-亚麻酸和二十碳四烯酸,其底物转化率分别达到了31.2％和46.3％。     

Effects of diabetes and insulin on hepatic delta6 desaturase gene expression

It has been recognized that rat liver microsomal Delta6 desaturation activity is defective in experimental diabetes, a fact that may be reverted by means of insulin treatment. In the present study, we used streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats in order to determine the regulatory role of insulin on the expression of hepatic Delta6 desaturase gene. The abundance of hepatic Delta6 desaturase mRNA in the diabetic rats is sevenfold lower than in the control. Insulin administration to diabetic rats induces Delta6 desaturase mRNA eightfold within 24 h. The effect of insulin on the Delta6 desaturase mRNA was inhibited 70% with dibutyryl-cAMP and theophylline administration and 90% by cycloheximide administration. Therefore, our data demonstrate that the activity of hepatic Delta6 desaturase in response to insulin is, at least in part, regulated by pretranslational events that require the synthesis of an unknown protein(s).     

Purification and characterization of {delta}-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase from Chlorella regularis

-Aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (-aminolevulinic acid hydrolyaseEC 4.2.1.24 [EC] ) which catalyzes the formation ofporphobilinogenfrom two molecules of -aminolevulinic acid (ALA) was purifiedfrom Chlorella regularis 737-fold by acetone and ammonium sulfatefractionations, DEAE-cellulose column chromatography, and SephadexG-200 gel filtration. The enzyme had an optimum pH of 8.5 inTris-HCl buffer and required either Mg²⁺ or Mn²⁺ for its maximumactivity. The Km values for Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺ and ALA were 15 µM,10µM, and 0.5 mM, respectively. The enzyme was not activatedby thiol compounds, but was inhibited by p-chloromercuribenzoate.The molecular weight estimated by gel filtration was 316,000and the isoelectric point was 5.25. (Received October 18, 1978; )     

Purification and properties of {delta}-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase from radish cotyledons

-Aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (5-aminolevulinate hydro-lyase,EC 4.2.1.24 [EC] ) was purified from greening radish cotyledons. Thefinal product was homogeneous on polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresisand had a molecular weight, estimated by gel filtration, of282,000 daltons. The enzyme seems to require magnesium ion aswell as sulfhydryl compounds for maximum activity. EDTA anda low concentration of zinc ion markedly inhibited the activity.The optimum pH was 8.0; the Km value for -aminolevulinic acidwas 3.85?10^–4M. Levulinic acid was a competitive inhibitorof the enzyme, with a Ki of 2.14?10^–4M. These propertieswere compared with those of microorganism and animal -aminolevulinicacid dehydratases. (Received November 22, 1976; )     

ω-3多聚不饱和脂肪酸脱氢酶的真核表达及鉴定

目的：构建ω-3多聚不饱和脂肪酸脱氢酶真核表达载体,并在293T细胞（人胚肾细胞）中实现表达。方法：通过RT-PCR法扩增得到ω-3多聚不饱和脂肪酸脱氢酶基因fat1,构建重组真核表达载体pCMV－Myc－fat1,用脂质体法转染293T细胞,Western Blot检测fat1的表达,并用间接免疫荧光（IFA）确定其在293T细胞中的定位情况。结果：构建真核表达质粒pCMV－Myc－fat1,转染293T细胞后,可检测到细胞内有fat1的表达并确定其在细胞中的位置。结论：成功构建真核表达质粒pCMV－Myc－fat1,可检测出细胞内有fat1的表达并确定其在细胞膜和细胞质内均有表达,为进行fat1的功能研究奠定了基础。     

少根根霉Δ^6-脂肪酸脱氢酶基因在毕赤酵母中的表达

Δ^6-脂肪酸脱氢酶是一种膜整合蛋白,也是多不饱和脂肪酸合成途径中的限速酶。在前期工作中,通过RT-PCR和RACE技术,从少根根霉NK300037中克隆到一个潜在编码Δ^6-脂肪酸脱氢酶的序列,序列和功能分析结果表明该序列具有一个长度为1377bp、编码由458个氨基酸组成、大小为52kD的新的Δ^6-肪酸脱氢酶基因。把少根根霉Δ^6-脂肪酸脱氢酶基因（RAD6）亚克隆到表达载体pPIC3．5K,构建重组表达载体pPICRAD6,并转化到毕赤酵母菌株GS115进行表达。提取酵母细胞总脂肪酸和进行甲酯化,经气相色谱和气相色谱-质谱连用分析表明,目的基因的编码产物能将C16：1、C17：1、C18：1、亚油酸和α-亚麻酸在△6和7位间特异性脱氢而引入一个新的双键,生成更高不饱和的脂肪酸,该催化反应没有链长特异性,只有键位特异性。此外,按Kozak序列特点,改变目的基因转译起始密码子周边序列结构,并把改变后序列导入毕赤酵母GS115中进行功能表达分析,结果表明在毕赤酵母中这种改变同样能提高目的基因的表达水平。综合所有分析结果表明,巴斯德毕赤酵母更适合用来综合分析Δ^6-脂肪酸脱氢酶基因的功能。     

Identification of a novel bifunctional delta12/delta15 fatty acid desaturase from a basidiomycete, Coprinus cinereus TD#822-2

A new gene encoding a delta12 fatty acid desaturase-related protein was cloned from a multicellular basidiomycete Coprinus cinereus TD#822-2. The 1326 bp full-length gene, designated as Cop-odeA, codes for a putative protein of 442 amino acids with a MW of 49224. The Cop-odeA yeast transformant accumulated four new fatty acids identified as 9,12-hexadecadienoic acid, 9,12,15-hexadecatrienoic acid, linoleic acid, and alpha-linolenic acid, which comprised 8.8%, 1.0%, 29.0%, and 0.6% of the total fatty acids, respectively. The Cop-odeA protein was confirmed to be a novel bifunctional fatty acid desaturase with both high delta12 desaturase activity and unusual delta15 desaturase activity.