Identification of an Animal -3 Fatty Acid Desaturase by Heterologous Expression in Arabidopsis
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Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 94, pp. 1142–1147, February 1997 Biochemistry Identification of an animal v-3 fatty acid desaturase by heterologous expression in Arabidopsis (fatty acid desaturationyexpressed sequence tagyfat-1yarachidonic acidypolyunsaturated fatty acids) JAMES P. SPYCHALLA*†,ANTHONY J. KINNEY‡, AND JOHN BROWSE*§ *Institute of Biological Chemistry, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-6340; and ‡Agricultural Products, Experiment Station 402, 4247 E.I. duPont de Nemours and Co., P.O. Box 80402, Wilmington, DE 19880-0402 Communicated by Christopher Somerville, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Stanford, CA, December 3, 1996 (received for review July 12, 1996) ABSTRACT In animals, fatty acid desaturases catalyze Biochemical studies of membrane-bound fatty acid desatu- key reactions in the synthesis of arachidonic acid and other rases in plants have proven equally difficult, and only one polyunsaturated fatty acids. A search of the Caenorhabditis enzyme has been purified to homogeneity (7). Higher plants elegans DNA databases, using the sequences of Arabidopsis produce many different unsaturated fatty acids (8), but in genes, identified several putative desaturases. Here we de- membrane lipids the major locations for double bonds are at scribe the characterization of the first of these genes, fat-1. The the D9, -12, and -15 (v-3) positions of 18-carbon acyl chains predicted protein encoded by a fat-1 cDNA showed 32–35% and the corresponding D7, -10, and -13 (v-3) positions of identity with both FAD2 and FAD3 of Arabidopsis. When 16-carbon chains (9). In Arabidopsis, the isolation of mutants expressed in transgenic plants, fat-1 resulted in a 90% increase with altered fatty acid compositions (10) has facilitated studies in the proportion of a-linolenic acid in root lipids. Wild-type of the biochemistry and function of the seven membrane Arabidopsis incorporated v-6 fatty acids (D8,11,14–20:3 and desaturases present in this plant (11). Furthermore, the ex- D5,8,11,14–20:4) into membrane lipids but did not desaturate tensive molecular genetic tools available in Arabidopsis al- them. By contrast, fat-1 transgenic plants efficiently desatu- lowed genes encoding desaturases to be cloned without the rated both of these fatty acids to the corresponding v-3 need to first solubilize and purify the enzymes themselves (12, products. These findings indicate that the C. elegans fat-1 gene 13). Interestingly, all the plant membrane-bound desaturases encodes the first animal representative of a class of glycero- use complex glycerolipids rather than acyl-CoAs as substrates. lipid desaturases that have previously been characterized in This finding and data indicating that the D5 desaturase from plants and cyanobacteria. The FAT-1 protein is an v-3 fatty rat liver acts on glycerolipids (14) suggest the possibility that acyl desaturase that recognizes a range of 18- and 20-carbon the majority of animal desaturases also catalyze glycerolipid- v-6 substrates. linked desaturation. However, the lack of progress in charac- terizing other animal desaturases has precluded further dis- Polyunsaturated fatty acids are important as structural com- cussion of this issue. ponents of membrane glycerolipids and as precursors of fam- We set out to use the Arabidopsis desaturase genes and the ilies of signaling molecules including prostaglandins, throm- extensive information now available from the Caenorhabditis boxanes, and leukotrienes (1, 2). The principal fatty acid elegans genome project (15) to identify and clone genes precursors of these signaling compounds are arachidonic acid encoding fatty acid desaturases in animals. C. elegans is a good (D5,8,11,14–20:4), providing an v-6 substrate that is respon- model in this respect because it elaborates a wide range of sible for the major synthesis of these compounds, and eicosa- polyunsaturated fatty acids including arachidonic and eicosa- pentaenoic acid (D5,8,11,14,17–20:5), an v-3 substrate that is pentaenoic acids, from very simple precursors available in its responsible for the parallel synthesis of many eicosanoids with diet (16, 17). In this communication, we report the isolation an additional double bond. An important class of enzymes and characterization of a cDNA from C. elegans that, when involved in the synthesis of polyunsaturated fatty acids are the expressed in Arabidopsis, encodes a novel fatty acid desaturase fatty acid desaturases that catalyze the introduction of double which can catalyze the introduction of an v-3 double bond into bonds into the hydrocarbon chain. In vertebrates, desaturases a range of 18- and 20-carbon fatty acids. are known to act at the D4, -5, -6, -8, and -9 positions (3). The 18:0-CoA D9 desaturase from rat liver has been characterized MATERIALS AND METHODS biochemically (4, 5), and the corresponding gene has been Database Searches. cloned (6). However, the remaining four enzymes have re- The National Center for Biotechnology mained recalcitrant to purification and genes that encode them Information’s (NCBI) peptide sequence database was searched using a BLAST server, with the peptide sequences of have not been isolated. Based on available information, and by the Arabidopsis thaliana FAD2, FAD6 and FAD7 fatty acid analogy to the 18:0-CoA desaturase, it is likely that these desaturases as queries. The GenBank accession numbers for additional enzymes are integral membrane proteins that re- the corresponding Arabidopsis cDNAs are L26296, U09503, quire other membrane components (cytochrome b and 5 and L22931, respectively. NADH:cytochrome b reductase) for activity (4), and it is 5 Cloning and Sequencing of a fat-1 cDNA. The partial cDNA these features that have limited progress in studying the identified by a database search, CEL10e11, was obtained from biochemistry and molecular genetics of these important syn- the C. elegans Genome Sequencing Center (Washington Uni- thetic reactions. versity School of Medicine, St. Louis). The cDNA insert was released by double digestion with HindIII and SacI, gel The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked ‘‘advertisement’’ in accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact. Data deposition: The sequence reported in this paper has been deposited in the GenBank database (accession no. L41807). Copyright q 1997 by THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE USA †Present address: Spychalla Farms, Inc., N3974 Highway 52, Antigo, 0027-8424y97y941142-6$2.00y0 WI 54409. PNAS is available online at http:yywww.pnas.org. §To whom reprint requests should be addressed. 1142 Downloaded by guest on September 24, 2021 Biochemistry: Spychalla et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94 (1997) 1143 purified, and labeled with [32P]dCTP using a random prime kit esters derived from phosphatidylcholine were separated on a (Promega). The denatured probe was used to screen a mixed 30 m 3 0.2 mm AT1000 column (Alltech Associates) in a stage C. elegans cDNA l phage (Uni-Zap XR) library (Strat- HP6890 Instrument (Hewlett–Packard). Oven temperature at agene). Nucleic acid hybridizations and high stringency washes injection was 1508C, and this was increased at 58Cymin to were performed as described (13). Hybridizing plaques were 2308C then held at 2308C for 10 min. Criteria for identification visualized by autoradiography. Positive clones were isolated of D5,8,11,14,17–20:5 in phosphatidylcholine from fat-1 trans- and excised from the phage vector according to the manufac- genic plants where the identification of a mass peak at myz 5 turer’s protocol to yield pBluescript plasmids. The plasmid 316, which corresponds to the expected molecular ion, and a clone with the longest insert, pCE8, was completely sequenced retention time (36.11 min) and fragmentation pattern that in both directions. Sequence analysis was carried out using the were identical to those of the authentic D5,8,11,14,17–20:5 programs available in the Genetics Computer Group package standard. No commercial standard was available for (18) using default settings for parameters unless indicated. The D8,11,14,17–20:4. A fatty acid methyl ester present in fat-1 DNA sequence corresponding to the ORF of the fat-1 cDNA transgenic plants sprayed with D8,11,14–20:3 but not in wild- was used to search the database of the C. elegans genome type control plants had a retention time of 35.74 min during gas sequencing project using the BLAST server accessed through chromatography–mass spectrometry. This compound showed the World Wide Web interface (15). No homologous sequence a mass peak at myz 5 318 (the expected molecular ion for 20:4) was found (highest BLAST score, 145; P 5 0.034), indicating that and a fragmentation pattern very similar to that of the the fat-1 genomic sequence had not yet been included by this authentic D5,8,11,14–20:4 standard. The retention time of project. D5,8,11,14–20:4 was 35.04 min for both the authentic standard Gene Construct for Plant Expression. The cauliflower and for the methyl esters recovered from plants sprayed with mosaic virus 35S promoterynopaline synthase terminator cas- soaps of this isomer. Therefore it was concluded that the new sette of Baulcombe et al. (19) was cloned into the XbaIyEcoRI compound detected only in fat-1 transgenic plants sprayed with sites of pBIN400 (20) to make the binary transformation vector D8,11,14–20:3 was an isomer of 20:4 and most probably pBIN420. The cDNA insert of pCE8 was released with a D8,11,14,17–20:4. EcoRIyKpnI double digest, end-filled with Klenow fragment, Nucleic Acid Analysis. Total RNA was extracted from leaves and blunt-ligated into the SmaI site of pBIN420 to make according to the method of Verwoerd et al. (24). Twenty-five pBIN420-CE8. These vectors contain the NPTII gene within micrograms of total RNA was separated on 1.2% agarose– their T-DNA, thus conferring kanamycin resistance to trans- formaldehyde gels and blot transferred to nylon membranes.