The University of Bristol

Colin M Lazarus

Ernst Heinz

Baoxiu Qi

Jörg Bauer

Andreas Renz

Amine Abbadi

Nursen Sözer

Margit Frentzen

Thomas Fraser

Stobart Keith

Johnathan A Napier

Olga Sayanova

Thorsten Zank

Ulrich Zähringer

Jonathan A Napier

Joerg Bauer

Jens Lerchl

Nursen Soezer

The invention relates to a process for the production of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in an organism by introducing, into the organism, nucleic acids coding for polypeptides with acyltransferase activity. These nucleic acid sequences, if appropriate together with further nucleic acid sequences coding for polypeptides of the fatty acid or lipid metabolism biosynthesis, can advantageously be expressed in the organism. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for the production of oils and/or triacylglycerides with an elevated content of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. The invention furthermore relates to the nucleic acid sequences, and constructs, vectors and organisms comprising the nucleic acid sequences. A further part of the invention relates to oils, lipids and/or fatty acids produced by the process according to the invention and to their use.

Plant acyltransferases specific for long-chained, multiply unsaturated fatty acids

The present invention relates to a process for the production of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in an organism by introducing, into the organism, nucleic acids which code for polypeptides with acyl transferase activity. These nucleic acid sequences, if appropriate together with further nucleic acid sequences which code for polypeptides of the fatty acid or lipid metabolism biosynthesis, can advantageously be expressed in the organism. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for the production of oils and/or triacylglycerides with an elevated content of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. The invention furthermore relates to the nucleic acid sequences, nucleic acid constructs, vectors and organisms comprising the nucleic acid sequences according to the invention, vectors comprising the nucleic acid sequences and/or the nucleic acid constructs and to transgenic organisms comprising the abovementioned nucleic acid sequences, nucleic acid constructs and/or vectors. A further part of the invention relates to oils, lipids and/or fatty acids produced by the process according to the invention and to their use.

The present invention relates to an improved process for the specific production of poly-unsaturated omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and a process for the production of triglycerides having an increased content of unsaturated fatty acids, in particular omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids having at least two double bonds and a 20 or 22 carbon atom chain length. The invention relates to the production of a transgenic organism, preferably a transgenic plant or a transgenic microorganism, hav-ing an increased content of fatty acids, oils or lipids containing C20- or C22-fatty acids with a delta-5, 7, 8, 10 double bond, respectively due to the expression of a delta-8-desaturase and a delta-9-elon-gase from organisms such as plants preferably Algae likeor. In addition the invention relates to a process for the production of poly unsaturated fatty acids such as Eicosapentaenoic, Arachidonic, Docosapentaenoic or Doosahexaenoic acid through the co-expression of a delta-8-desaturase, a delta-9-elongase and a delta-5 desaturase in organisms such as microorganisms or plants. The invention additionally relates to the use of specific nucleic acid sequences encoding for the aforementioned proteins with delta-8-desaturase-, delta-9-elongase- or delta-5-desaturase-activity, nucleic acid constructs, vectors and organisms containing said nucleic acid sequences. The invention further relates to unsaturated fatty acids and triglycerides having an increased content of at least 1% by weight of unsaturated fatty acids and use thereof.

Method for the production of polyunsaturated fatty acids

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Bristol, United Kingdom

Colin M Lazarus