• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.442-450
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• 1997

Conjugated dienoic derivatives of linoleic acid(CLA) are a mixture of positional and geometric isomers of linoleic acid(LA). We previously found that CLA changes the fatty acid profile in chicken eggs and serum by decreasing monounsaturated fatty acids. Studies were conducted to explore the effects of CLA on fatty acid composition. Rabbits were fed a semisynthetic diet with or without CLA(0.5g CLA/rabbit/day) for 22 weeks. Compared to the control, rabbits fed CLA had significantly lower monounsaturated fatty acid levels(palmitoleic acid Cl6 : 1 by 50% and oleic acid Cl8 : 1, by 20%) in plasma lipids. We found similar differences in fatty acid composition in the liver and the aorta. The inhibitory effect of CLA on $\Delta$9 desaturation was confirmed in a human hepatoma cell line, Hep G2. CLA significantly decreased $\Delta$9 desaturation in 4-5 hours as shown by an increase in the ratio of Cl6 : 0 to C 16 1, This is apparently due to a decrease in $\Delta$9 desaturase(stearoyl-CoA desaturase, SCD) activity ; it was decreased more than 50%. These results, along with our previous findings, indicate that CLA is an inhibitor of $\Delta$9 desaturase in the liver.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.6-11
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• 2001

An ${\omega}-3$ fatty acid desaturase gene which is involved in de novo synthesis of -Iinolenate was isolated from cDNA library of Perilla frutescens. A cDNA library was constructed with mRNA extracted from perilla seeds of 12 DAF. The cDNA clone consisting of 1317-bp open reading frame encoding 438 amino acids with a relative MW of 50kDa, was isolated and showed 65-83% similarities to other known genes. This cDNA is deduced to encode a plastidal ${\omega}-3$ fatty acid desaturase based on the fact that it has higher homology to plastidal ones than to microsomal ones and its N-terminal sequence shares several characteristics of transit peptides of chloroplast proteins. Southern blot analysis of genomic DNA indicated that more than one gene or alleles for ${\omega}-3$ fatty acid desaturase are present in the genome of perilla. Northern blot analysis showed that the ${\omega}-3$ fatty acid desaturase gene is mainly revealed in early developing seeds and has different expression patterns depending on tissue types compared to the microsomal ones.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.1098-1102
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• 2009

Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA, C18:3 ${\Delta}^{6,9,12}$) is synthesized by a delta-6 fatty acid desaturase using linoleic acid (LA, C18:2 ${\Delta}^{9,12}$) as a substrate. To enable the production of GLA in the conventional yeast Pichia pastoris, we have isolated a cDNA encoding the delta-6 fatty acid desaturase from Cunninghamella echinulata MIAN6 and confirmed its function by heterogeneous expression in P. pastoris. Sequence analysis indicated that this cDNA sequence has an open reading frame of 1,404 bp, which encodes a 52 kDa peptide of 468 amino acids. This sequence has 64% identity to the previously reported delta-6 fatty acid desaturase from Rhizopus oryzae. The polypeptide has a cytochrome b5 domain at the N-terminus including the HPGG motif in the heme-binding region, as reported for other delta-6 fatty acid desaturases. In addition, this enzyme differs from other desaturases by the presence of three possible N-linked glycosylation sites. Analysis of the fatty acid composition demonstrated the accumulation of GLA to the level of 3.1% of the total fatty acids. Notably, the amounts of ginkgolic acid (C17:1) and palmitic acid (C16:0) were increased from 1.3% to 29.6% and from 15% to 33%, respectively. These results reveal that the modification of the fatty acid biosynthetic pathway by genetic manipulation in order to produce specific polyunsaturated fatty acids in P. pastoris is a promising technique.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.557-560
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• 2011

It has been known that Δ-desaturase (TAD5) in the biosynthetic pathway of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids of Thraustochytrium aureumis responsible for the conversion of di-homo-${\gamma}$-linolenic acid (C20：4) into arachidonic acid (C20：4). The genetic sequence analysis on TAD5 of Thraustochytrium aureum ATCC34304 used in this study showed that it has two amino acid changes when compared to that of Thraustochytrium aureum TAD5 first reported in 2003. Accordingly, Thraustochytrium aureum ATCC34304 TAD5 was named TAD5_1. TAD5_1-inserted methylotropic Pichia pastoris was prepared and then cultured with a precursor fatty acid, di-homo-${\gamma}$-linolenic acid. GC analysis confirmed that a certain amount of the precursor fatty acid was converted into arachidonic acid. In this study, not only a recombinant Pichia pastoris with the typical activity of ${\Delta}5$-desaturase which plays an essential role in the biosynthesis of LCPUFAs was successfully made but also the preparationpotential of a recombinant Pichia pastoris strain which may synthesize eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) that are important in maintaining and improving human's brain function was proposed.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.93-97
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• 1997

For the molecular genetic study of cold tolerance mechanism in plants, a cDNA encoding fatty acid desaturase (fad3), converting linoleic acid (18:2, $\omega$-6) to linolenic acid (18:3, $\omega$-3), was isolated from $\lambda$ZAPII Arabidopsis thaliana cDNA expression library by plaque hybridization using fad3 cDNA probe derived from Brassica napus. A 1.8 kb-EcoRI fragment from a lambda clone showing a strong positive hybridization signal was subcloned into pGEM7 and analyzed for its nucleotide sequence. From deduced amino acid sequences, the fad3 gene was revealed to have an open reading frame(ORF) consisting of 386 amino acids with a molecular mass of 44,075 Da. The fad3 gene was compared to chloroplast $\omega$-3 fatty acid desaturase (fad7) and endoplasmic reticulum Δ12 fatty acid desaturase (fad2) to show 70% and 58% amino acid sequence homology, respectively, Especially, amino acids of internal (82 to 151) and carboxy terminal (276 to 333) regions were highly conserved, implying their requisite role for enzymatic functioning of fatty acid desaturases. IPTG-induced fad3 cDNA expression in E. coli cells was suggested to be toxic to bacterial growth.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.424-427
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• 2004

Microsomal ${\omega}-3$ fatty acid desaturase (FAD3) is an essential enzyme in the production of the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid ${\alpha}-linolenic$ acid during the seed developing stage. To understand the regulatory mechanism of the gene encoding the ${\omega}-3$ fatty acid desaturase, a genomic fragment corresponding to the previously isolated perilla seed PfFAD3 cDNA was amplified from perilla (Perilla frutescens Britt) by GenomeWalker PCR. Sequence analysis of the fragment provided with identification of a 1485-bp 5'-upstream region and a 241-bp intron in the open reading frame. To determine the tissue-specificity of the PfFAD3 gene expression, the 5'-upstream region was fused to the ${\beta}-glucuronidase$ (GUS) gene and incorporated into Arabidopsis thaliana. Histochemical assay of the transgenic plants showed that GUS expression was restricted to seed and pollen, showing that PfFAD3 gene was exclusively expressed in those tissues.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.757-765
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• 2011

Fatty acid composition of beef intramuscular tissue is an important trait because high proportions of mono-unsaturated fatty acid are related to favorable beef flavor. In this study, we investigated the effects of genetic factors, such as stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD), on beef carcass traits, including fatty acid composition, in the Hanwoo. Analysis of fatty acids in Hanwoo was performed using a breed raised in Gyeonbuk province (n = 395). Compared to the homozygote, the GA, CT, and CT genotypes of exon 5 in the SCD polymorphism showed a higher content of oleic acid (p<0.05) and higher contents of mono-unsaturated fatty acid (p<0.05) and marbling scores (p<0.05) in intramuscular fat. Results of haplotype analysis showed a significant presence of unsaturated fatty acids and marbling score in the $ht1^*ht2$ and $ht2^*ht2$ groups (p<0.05). Furthermore, haplotype effects more powerful than a single gene were also observed. These ht1 and ht2 types also showed a significant difference in unsaturated fatty acids and marbling score, affecting beef flavor in the Hanwoo groups. Therefore, it can be inferred that the ht1 and ht2 types might be valuable new markers for use in improvement of Hanwoo.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.1413-1421
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• 2013

The marine microalga Isochrysis sphaerica is rich in the very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, $C20:5{\omega}-3$) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, $C22:6{\omega}-3$) that are important to human health. Here, we report a functional characterization of a ${\Delta}4$-fatty acid desaturase gene (FAD4) from I. sphaerica. IsFAD4 contains a 1,284 bp open reading frame encoding a 427 amino acid polypeptide. The deduced amino sequence comprises three conserved histidine motifs and a cytochrome b5 domain at its N-terminus. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that IsFad4 formed a unique Isochrysis clade distinct from the counterparts of other eukaryotes. Heterologous expression of IsFAD4 in Pichia pastoris showed that IsFad4 was able to desaturate docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) to form DHA, and the rate of converting DPA to DHA was 79.8%. These results throw light on the potential industrial production of specific polyunsaturated fatty acids through IsFAD4 transgenic yeast or oil crops.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.36 no.10
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• pp.1279-1286
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• 2007

We investigated the effects of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on the fatty acid composition in the plasma and liver, and the expressions of delta-5 desaturase (D5D) and fatty acid desaturase2 (FADS2) genes in ICR male mice using two different sources of fats in the diets. The experimental groups were divided into four groups: beef tallow (BT) and fish oil (FO), BT with CLA supplementation (BTC), and FO with CLA supplementation (FOC) groups. Ten mice in each group were fed with the experimental diets for 4 weeks. All mice were fed experimental diets containing 12% of total dietary fat (w/w) either with or without 0.5% CLA (w/w). Fatty acid compositions were analyzed in the plasma and liver using gas chromatography. The levels of D5D and FADS2 expression were analyzed by RT-PCR in the liver The results showed that CLA participates competitively with C18:2 in the elongation and desaturation processes, leading to significant increase in the levels of C20:4 and C22:6 in BTC group (p<0.05). The expression levels of D5D and FADS2 were higher in BT and BTC group than those of FO and FOC group. In particular, the expression of D5D gene was greatly upregulated in BTC group. Furthermore, the conversion ratios from C18:2 to C20:4 in the liver were higher in BTC group than those in other groups. Thus our results suggest that increased expressions of DSD and FADS2 genes may be responsible for the enhanced CLA effects on the desaturation in the BT containing saturated fatty acids rather than the FO rich in n-3 PUFA.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.113-118
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• 1999

The transgenic plant of Citrus species (Citrus aurantium L.) was constructed with a fatty acid desaturase gene using microprojectile bombardment transformation system. The DNA of a fatty acid desaturase gene, fad7, constructed in pBI121 was coated onto tungsten particles ($1.1{\mu}m$) and introduced into callus cells by bombarding with 1100 psi of helium pressure, 1/4 in of gap distance, 7.0 cm of target distance and 27 in Hg of chamber vacuum. The bombarded cells were selected on the medium containing kanamycin. The selected cells were successfully regenerated into plantlets via somatic embryogenesis on the media containing plant growth regulators. The results of polymerase chain reaction analysis of genomic DNAs from the putative transformants showed that the introduced DNAs of fad7 were present in both the selected callus cells and the regenerated plantlets.