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Production of γ-linolenic acid and stearidonic acid by Synechococcus sp. PCC7002 containing cyanobacterial fatty acid desaturase genes

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Abstract

Genetic modification is useful for improving the nutritional qualities of cyanobacteria. To increase the total unsaturated fatty acid content, along with the ratio of ω-3/ω-6 fatty acids, genetic engineering can be used to modify fatty acid metabolism. Synechococcus sp. PCC7002, a fast-growing cyanobacterium, does not contain a Δ6 desaturase gene and is therefore unable to synthesize γ-linolenic acid (GLA) and stearidonic acid (SDA), which are important in human health. In this work, we constructed recombinant vectors Syd6D, Syd15D and Syd6Dd15D to express the Δ15 desaturase and Δ6 desaturase genes from Synechocystis PCC6803 in Synechococcus sp. PCC7002, with the aim of expressing polyunsaturated fatty acids. Overexpression of the Δ15 desaturase gene in Synechococcus resulted in 5.4 times greater accumulation of α-linolenic acid compared with the wild-type while Δ6 desaturase gene expression produced both GLA and SDA. Co-expression of the two genes resulted in low-level accumulation of GLA but much larger amounts of SDA, accounting for as much to 11.64% of the total fatty acid content.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life Science and Technology, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, China

    Xuewei Dong  (董学卫) & Youzhi Li  (李有志)

  2. Biotechnology Research Center, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Science, Key Laboratory for Genetic Improvement of Crop, Animal and Poultry of Shandong Province, Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and Biotechnology, Huanghuaihai, Ministry of Agriculture, Jinan, 250100, China

    Qingfang He  (何庆芳), Zhenying Peng  (彭振英), Jinhui Yu  (于金慧), Fei Bian  (边斐) & Yuping Bi  (毕玉平)

  3. Department of Applied Science, University of Arkansas, Little Rock, 72204, Arkansas, USA

    Qingfang He  (何庆芳)

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  1. Xuewei Dong  (董学卫)
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  2. Qingfang He  (何庆芳)
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  4. Jinhui Yu  (于金慧)
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  5. Fei Bian  (边斐)
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  6. Youzhi Li  (李有志)
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  7. Yuping Bi  (毕玉平)
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Youzhi Li  (李有志) or Yuping Bi  (毕玉平).

Additional information

Supported by the International S&T Cooperation Program of China (No. 2012DFA30450), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30871541), the Taishan Scholar Foundation of Shandong Province (No. tshw20091014), and the Innovation Program of the University Institutes of Jinan, Shandong Province (No. 201004044)

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Dong, X., He, Q., Peng, Z. et al. Production of γ-linolenic acid and stearidonic acid by Synechococcus sp. PCC7002 containing cyanobacterial fatty acid desaturase genes. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 34, 772–780 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-016-4369-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-016-4369-x

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