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Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Isolation, Propagation, and Identification of Bacterial Species with Hydrocarbon Metabolizing Properties from Aquatic Habitats
Published on: December 7, 2021
Isolation and characterization of a Delta5-desaturase from Oblongichytrium sp
Yasuyuki Kumon1, Yasushi Kamisaka, Nao Tomita
1Institute for Biological Resources and Functions, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Abstract:
We isolated a cDNA clone with homology to known desaturase genes from Oblongichytrium sp., recently classified as a new genus of thraustochytrids (Labyrinthulomycetes), and found that it encoded Delta5-desaturase by its heterologous expression in yeast. The enzyme had higher activity toward 20:4n-3 than 20:3n-6, indicating that this Delta5-desaturase can be used in the production of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in transgenic organisms.

