Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry
Online ISSN : 1347-6947
Print ISSN : 0916-8451
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Regular Papers
Production of Arachidonic and Eicosapentaenoic Acids in Plants Using Bryophyte Fatty Acid Δ6-Desaturase, Δ6-Elongase, and Δ5-Desaturase Genes
Masataka KAJIKAWAKeisuke MATSUIMisa OCHIAIYoshikazu TANAKAYoichi KITAMasao ISHIMOTOYoshito KOHZUShin-ichiro SHOJIKatsuyuki T. YAMATOKanji OHYAMAHideya FUKUZAWATakayuki KOHCHI
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2008 Volume 72 Issue 2 Pages 435-444

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Abstract

The liverwort Marchantia polymorpha L. synthesizes arachidonic (ARA) and eicosapentaenoic acids (EPA) from linoleic and α-linolenic acids respectively by a series of reactions catalyzed by Δ6-desaturase, Δ6-elongase, and Δ5-desaturase. Overexpression of the M. polymorpha genes encoding these enzymes in transgenic M. polymorpha plants resulted in 3- and 2-fold accumulation of ARA and EPA respectively, as compared to those in the wild type. When these three genes were introduced and co-expressed in tobacco plants, in which long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) are not native cellular components, ARA and EPA represented up to 15.5% and 4.9% respectively of the total fatty acid in the leaves. Similarly in soybean, C20-LCPUFAs represented up to 19.5% of the total fatty acids in the seeds. These results suggest that M. polymorpha can provide genes crucial to the production of C20-LCPUFAs in transgenic plants.

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© 2008 by Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry
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