title: Metabolic engineering of plants to produce very long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids.
abstract: Very long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLCPUFAs) are essential for human health and well-being. However, the current sources of these valuable compounds are limited and may not be sustainable in the long term. Recently, considerable progress has been made in identifying genes involved in the biosynthesis of VLCPUFAs. The co-expression of these genes in model systems such as plant embryos or yeast provided many valuable insights into the mechanisms of VLCPUFA synthesis. The recent successful reconstitution of pathways leading to the synthesis of arachidonic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid and finally docosahexaenoic acid in oil-seed plants indicates the feasibility of using transgenic crops as alternative sources of VLCPUFAs. The various approaches used to attain these results and the specific constraints associated with each approach are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Bioriginal Food & Science Corporation, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Truksa
authors.forename: Guohai
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vrinten
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qiu
mesh_terms: D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified
chemical_list: D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids