Isolation of three novel long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid Δ9-elongases and the transgenic assembly of the entire Pavlova salina docosahexaenoic acid pathway in Nicotiana benthamiana.

The transgenic aerobic synthesis of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) will in most land plants commence with either a Δ6-desaturation or a Δ9-elongation. Numerous Δ6-desaturases have been characterized, but only one Δ9-elongase has been reported in peer-reviewed literature. In the present study, we describe the isolation of three additional Δ9-elongases from the class Haptophyceae and demonstrate that the Δ9-elongase group contains highly conserved regions, which differentiate them from other ELO-type elongases. One such important difference is the presence of an LQxFHH motif instead of the usual LHxYHH motif, a feature that should simplify further gene discovery efforts in this group of enzymes. Moreover, the identification of the Pavlova salina (N. Carter) J. C. Green Δ9-elongase completes the isolation of the entire P. salina docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) pathway, and we describe the assembly of this pathway in Nicotiana benthamiana. Finally, we comment on possible explanations for the widespread presence of the Δ6-desaturated fatty acid stearidonic acid (SDA, 18:4Δ6,9,12,15) in the plastidial lipids of organisms using the Δ9-elongase pathway.