A MORTIERELLA ALPINA C16/18 FATTY ACID ELONGASE

摘要

The present invention relates to a fungal C16/18 fatty acid elongase that isable to catalyze the conversion of palmitate (16:0) to stearic acid (18:0).Specifically, the nucleotide sequence of a Mortierella alpina C16/18 fattyacid elongase is provided (designated as ~ELO3~). Methods of increasingmicrobial oil production, increasing carbon flux into the polyunsaturatedfatty acid biosynthetic pathway and increasing the content of polyunsaturatedfatty acids by over-expression of the C16/18 fatty acid elongase are describedherein. Most desirably, the substrate specificity of the instant ELO3 will beparticularly useful to enable accumulation of long-chain polyunsaturated fattyacids in oleaginous yeast, such as Yarrowia lipolytica.