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http://dx.doi.org/10.3839/jabc.2009.017

Biosynthesis of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: Metabolic Engineering in Plants  

Kim, Sun-Hee (Functional Bio-Material Division, National Academy of Agricultural Science, RDA)
Kim, So-Yun (Functional Bio-Material Division, National Academy of Agricultural Science, RDA)
Kim, Jong-Bum (Functional Bio-Material Division, National Academy of Agricultural Science, RDA)
Roh, Kyung-Hee (Functional Bio-Material Division, National Academy of Agricultural Science, RDA)
Kim, Young-Mi (Functional Bio-Material Division, National Academy of Agricultural Science, RDA)
Park, Jong-Sug (Functional Bio-Material Division, National Academy of Agricultural Science, RDA)
Publication Information
Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry / v.52, no.3, 2009 , pp. 93-102 More about this Journal
Abstract
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have significantly beneficial effects on health in relation to cardiovascular, immune, and inflammatory conditions and they are involved in determining the biophysical properties of membranes as well as being precursors for signaling molecules. PUFA biosynthesis is catalyzed by sequential desaturation and fatty acyl elongation reactions. This aerobic biosynthetic pathway was thought to be taxonomically conserved, but an alternative anaerobic pathway for the biosynthesis of PUFA is now known to contain analogous polyketide synthases (PKS). Certain fish oil can be a rich source of PUFA although processed marine oil is generally undesirable as food ingredients because of the associated objectionable flavors that are difficult and cost-prohibitive to remove. Oil-seed plants contain only the 18-carbon polyunsaturated fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid, which is not converted in the human body to EPA and DHA. It is now possible to engineer common oilseeds which can produce EPA and DHA and this has been the focus of a number of academic and industrial research groups. Recent advances and future prospects in the production of EPA and DHA in oilseed crops are discussed here.
Keywords
desaturation; DHA; EPA; fatty acyl elongation; oilseed crops; polyunsaturated fatty acids;
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