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Biosynthesis of polyunsaturated short chain aldehydes in the diatom Thalassiosira rotula
Alexandra Barofsky1, Georg Pohnert
1Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institut des sciences et ingénierie chimiques, LECH, Batochimie, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Abstract:
The diatom Thalassiosira rotula releases polyunsaturated short chain aldehydes (PUA) such as 2E,4Z,7-octatrienal (7a) and 2E,4Z,7Z-decatrienal (3a) upon wounding. Using labeling experiments and synthetic standards, we demonstrate that the mechanism of fatty acid transformation does not follow established lipoxygenase/hydroperoxide lyase pathways known from higher plants or mammals but rather relies on a unique transformation of polyunsaturated hydroperoxy fatty acids. These intermediates are transformed to PUA and short chain hydroxylated fatty acids, which are novel oxylipins. [reaction: see text]
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