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Synthesis and production of unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids in yeast: current state and perspectives

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology volume 95, pages 1–12 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

Recently, many genes involved in the formation of unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) were isolated. In most cases, their activities were confirmed by expressing them in the well-studied model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae because its fatty acid compositions are very simple and it does not contain PUFAs. Taking advantage of its genetic tractability and increasing wealth of accessible data, many groups are attempting to produce various useful fatty acids in the model yeasts, mainly in S. cerevisiae. This review describes typical such examples including a very recent study on the expression of a fatty acid hydroxylase gene in fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Furthermore, the impact of the genetically engineered alteration of fatty acid composition on the stress tolerance is presented because unsaturated fatty acids have crucial roles in membrane fluidity and signaling processes. Lastly, recent attempts at increasing lipid content in S. cerevisiae are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

I am grateful to Masakazu Yamaoka and Hisashi Yazawa for valuable comments and discussions.

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Affiliations

  1. Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, AIST Tsukuba Central 6, Higashi 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8566, Japan

    Hiroshi Uemura

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  1. Hiroshi Uemura
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Correspondence to Hiroshi Uemura.

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Uemura, H. Synthesis and production of unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids in yeast: current state and perspectives. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 95, 1–12 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-012-4105-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-012-4105-1

Keywords

  • S. cerevisiae
  • S. pombe
  • Polyunsaturated fatty acids
  • Fatty acid desaturase
  • Elongase
  • Fatty acid hydroxylase