Cloning and characterization of the 6 polyunsaturated fatty acid elongase from the green microalga Parietochloris incisa.
The very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (VLC-PUFA), arachidonic acid (ARA, 20:4omega-6) is a component of neuron tissues such as brain and retina cells and a primary substrate for the biosynthesis of biologically active eicosanoids. The green freshwater microalga Parietochloris incisa (Trebouxiophyceae) has been shown to accumulate an extraordinary high content of ARA-rich triacylglycerols. It was thus interesting to characterize the genes involved in lipid biosynthesis in this alga. We report here the identification of a cDNA encoding for a P. incisa PUFA elongase (PiELO1) and demonstrate that the expression of PiELO1 in yeast Saccharomyces cereviseae confers its elongase activity on C18 6 PUFA. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that PiELO1 is highly similar to functionally characterized 6 PUFA elongase genes from other green algae and lower plants. Quantitative real-time PCR expression studies showed that PiELO1 is upregulated under nitrogen starvation, the condition triggering and enhancing storage oil and ARA accumulation in P. incisa.
The Microalgal Biotechnology Laboratory, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boker Campus, 84990, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel.
Umidjon
U
Iskandarov
Inna
I
Khozin-Goldberg
Rivka
R
Ofir
Zvi
Z
Cohen
D000123:Acetyltransferases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000460:Chlorophyta / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D000081031:Fatty Acid Elongases; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012440:Saccharomyces / Q000235:genetics; D013997:Time Factors
D012333:RNA, Messenger; D000123:Acetyltransferases; D000081031:Fatty Acid Elongases