Dr Shwan Rachid, Dean of Faculty of Sciencs and Health (FSCH) and his co-authors have published new article in Chemical Science Journal on Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), particularly the omega-3 long-chain PUFAs (LC-PUFAs) eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which are well known for their beneficial health effects.
The obvious limitation of the present EPA/DHA key source, fish oil, demands for alternative and sustainable PUFA resources and several biotechnological approaches addressing this problem are currently under development. Different marine microorganisms are known to produce PUFAs de novo under strictly anaerobic conditions employing polyketide synthase (PKS)-like enzymes known as PUFA synthases. Here, we report for the first time the characterization of such PUFA synthases from terrestrial origin. Two distinct types of PUFA biosynthetic gene clusters were discovered, originating from linoleic acid producing myxobacteria of the genus Sorangium as well as from species of the recently discovered myxobacterial genus Aetherobacter, that turned out to be prolific producers of EPA and DHA. The identified biosynthetic pathways differ significantly from the marine systems in terms of gene organization, catalytic domain arrangement, and sequence identity of the encoded PUFA synthases. Notably, a unique domain, which most likely acts as 1-acylglycerol-3-phosphate O-acyltransferase, was identified in these myxobacterial PUFA synthases. As the native producer strains grow slowly, are difficult to handle, and genetic modification has proven difficult, synthetic biotechnology approaches were applied to establish a heterologous production platform in the myxobacterial model strain Myxococcus xanthus.
This will put Koya University and it academic community well represented in international publication with High impact factor.
Further link found at
Edge Article
Polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis in myxobacteria: different PUFA synthases and their product diversity
Katja Gemperlein,a Shwan Rachid,a Ronald O. Garcia,a Silke C. Wenzela and Rolf Müller*a
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Chem. Sci., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3SC53163E
Received 15 Nov 2013, Accepted 24 Dec 2013
First published online 02 Jan 2014
