Avant garde fatty acid synthesis by trypanosomes.
In this issue of Cell, Lee et al. (2006) report that the parasite Trypanosoma brucei synthesizes fatty acids in an unconventional way. T. brucei and two other trypanosomes use enzymes called elongases to synthesize myristate, a fourteen carbon (C14) fatty acid essential for pathogenesis. This is an unexpected finding as these enzymes were thought only to elongate already long (C16 or C18) acyl chains.
Cronan
John E
JE
Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois, Urbana, 61801, USA. j-cronan@life.uiuc.edu
D000818:Animals; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006801:Humans; D019814:Myristic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014346:Trypanosoma brucei brucei / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity
D005227:Fatty Acids; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D019814:Myristic Acid