title: Fatty acid desaturation: variations on an oxidative theme.
abstract: Significant progress in our understanding of the mechanism of fatty acid desaturation has been achieved. The site of initial oxidation has been determined for several membrane-bound desaturases and a common cryptoregiochemical theme has been revealed. The results of several studies, including a detailed analysis of a soluble plant desaturase system, point to a close mechanistic relationship between dehydrogenation and hydroxylation pathways.
authors.affiliation: Maxygen Inc., 515 Galveston Drive, Redwood City, CA 94063, USA.
authors.forename: Behnaz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Behrouzian
authors.forename: Peter H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Buist
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D044943:Fatty Acid Desaturases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D006900:Hydroxylation; D007313:Insecta; D007425:Intracellular Membranes / Q000201:enzymology; D007700:Kinetics; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010944:Plants; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D044943:Fatty Acid Desaturases