期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：2000
卷号：97
期号：15
页码：8284-8289
DOI：10.1073/pnas.97.15.8284
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：The enzymes that are involved in the elongation of fatty acids differ in terms of the substrates on which they act. To date, the enzymes specifically involved in the biosynthesis of polyunsaturated fatty acids have not yet been identified. In an attempt to identify a gene(s) encoding an enzyme(s) specific for the elongation of {gamma}-linolenic acid (GLA) (18:3n-6), a cDNA expression library was made from the fungus Mortierella alpina. The cDNA library constructed in a yeast expression vector was screened by measuring the expressed elongase activity [conversion of GLA to dihomo-GLA (20:3n-6)] from an individual yeast clone. In this report, we demonstrate the isolation of a cDNA (GLELO) whose encoded protein (GLELOp) was involved in the conversion of GLA to dihomo-GLA in an efficient manner (60% conversion). This cDNA contains a 957-nucleotide ORF that encodes a protein of 318 amino acids. Substrate specificity analysis revealed that this fungal enzyme acted also on stearidonic acid (18:4n-3). This report identifies and characterizes an elongase subunit that acts specifically on the two {Delta}6-desaturation products, 18:3n-6 and 18:4n-3. When this GLELO cDNA was coexpressed with M. alpina {Delta}5-desaturase cDNA in yeast, it resulted in the conversion of GLA to arachidonic acid (20:4n-6) as well as the conversion of stearidonic acid to eicosopentaenoic acid (20:5n-3). Thus, this GLELO gene may play an critical role in the bio-production of both n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.
