Identification and characterization of a novel yeast omega3-fatty acid desaturase acting on long-chain n-6 fatty acid substrates from Pichia pastoris.

A cDNA sequence putatively encoding a omega(3)-fatty acid desaturase gene was isolated from methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris GS115. The deduced amino acid sequence of this cloned cDNA showed high identity to known fungal omega(3)-fatty acid desaturases. Functional identification of this gene heterologously in Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain INVScl indicated that the deduced amino acid sequence exhibited omega(3)-fatty acid desaturase activity. The newly identified omega(3)-fatty acid desaturase, named Pp-FAD3, is novel because it showed broad n-6 fatty acid substrate specificity by its ability to convert all the 18-carbon and 20-carbon n-6 substrates examined to the corresponding n-3 fatty acids, with an approximately equivalent high conversion rate. Pp-FAD3 is the first known yeast omega(3)-fatty acid desaturase to act on long-chain n-6 fatty acid substrates. Heterologous expression of the newly identified omega(3) desaturase in different hosts will be an alternative method to increase the flow of n-6 fatty acid intermediates into their n-3 derivatives. (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.