The codon-optimized Δ(6)-desaturase gene of Pythium sp. as an empowering tool for engineering n3/n6 polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis

BACKGROUND: The ∆(6)-desaturase gene, encoding a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of polyunsaturated fatty acids, has potential in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications. RESULTS: The ∆(6)-desaturase gene has been isolated from a selected strain of Oomycetes, Pythium sp. BCC53698. The cloned gene (PyDes6) contained an open reading frame (ORF) of 1401 bp encoding 466 amino acid residues. The deduced amino acid sequence shared a high similarity to those of other ∆(6)-desaturases that contained the signature features of a membrane-bound ∆(6)-desaturase, including a cytochrome b(5) and three histidine-rich motifs and membrane-spanning regions. Heterologous expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae showed that monoene, diene and triene fatty acids having ∆(9)-double bond were substrates for PyDes6. No distinct preference between the n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acyl substrates was found. The ∆(6)-desaturated products were markedly increased by codon optimization of PyDes6. CONCLUSION: The codon-optimized ∆(6)-desaturase gene generated in this study is a promising tool for further reconstitution of the fatty acid profile, in a host system of choice, for the production of economically important fatty acids, particularly the n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12896-015-0200-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.