Skip to main content
Log in

ENZYME MECHANISMS

Fatty acid elongation by ELOVL condensing enzymes depends on a histidine nucleophile

  • News & Views
  • Published:

From Nature Structural & Molecular Biology

View current issue Submit your manuscript

The first crystal structure of a membrane-bound fatty acid elongase condensing enzyme, human ELOVL7, reveals a new reaction mechanism.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1: Fatty acid elongation pathway.
Fig. 2: ELOVL7 structure.

References

  1. Leonard, A. E., Pereira, S. L., Sprecher, H. & Huang, Y.-S. Prog. Lipid Res. 43, 36–54 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Blacklock, B. J., Kelley, D. & Patel, S. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 374, 226–230 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Nagano, M. et al. J. Plant Res. 132, 131–134 (2019).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Lee, S. H., Stephens, J. L. & Englund, P. T. Nat. Rev. Microbiol. 5, 287–297 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Haslam, T. M. & Kunst, L. Plant Sci. 210, 93–107 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Venegas-Calerón, M., Beaudoin, F., Sayanova, O. & Napier, J. A. J. Biol. Chem. 282, 2996–3003 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Paul, S. et al. J. Biol. Chem. 281, 9018–9029 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Kim, J. et al. Plant Physiol. 162, 567–580 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Denic, V. & Weissman, J. S. Cell 130, 663–677 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Heath, R. J. & Rock, C. O. Nat. Prod. Rep. 19, 581–596 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Ghanevati, M. & Jaworski, J. G. Eur. J. Biochem. 269, 3531–3539 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Shanklin, J., Whittle, E. & Fox, B. G. Biochemistry 33, 12787–12794 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Nie, L. et al. Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41594-021-00605-6 (2021).

  14. Selvy, P. E., Lavieri, R. R., Lindsley, C. W. & Brown, H. A. Chem. Rev. 111, 6064–6119 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Zhou, X. et al. Biochemistry 52, 3588–3600 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Hernandez-Buquer, S. & Blacklock, B. J. FEBS Lett. 587, 3837–3842 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Jez, J. M., Ferrer, J.-L., Bowman, M. E., Dixon, R. A. & Noel, J. P. Biochemistry 39, 890–902 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Takahashi, T. et al. J. Med. Chem. 52, 3142–3145 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Kemp, S., Huffnagel, I. C., Linthorst, G. E., Wanders, R. J. & Engelen, M. Nat. Rev. Endocrinol. 12, 606–615 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

A. Pike graciously provided Fig. 2a. R. Minto is gratefully acknowledged for engaging in critical discussions.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brenda J. Blacklock.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Blacklock, B.J. Fatty acid elongation by ELOVL condensing enzymes depends on a histidine nucleophile. Nat Struct Mol Biol 28, 462–464 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41594-021-00609-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41594-021-00609-2

  • Springer Nature America, Inc.

Navigation