Identification and characterization of a delta-12 fatty acid desaturase gene from marine microalgae Isochrysis galbana

The cDNA of the delta-12 fatty acid desaturase gene, IgFAD2, was cloned from the marine microalgae Isochrysis galbana, a species capable of producing docosahexaenoic acid. Sequence analysis indicated that the open reading frame measured a length of 1 158 bp and encoded 386 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 42.8 kDa and an isoelectric point of 9.2. Computational analysis of the protein sequence of IgFAD2 showed typical features of membrane-bound desaturase such as three conserved histidine boxes along with four membrane-spanning regions that were universally present among plant desaturases. Quantitative real-time PCR results showed that the abundance of IgFAD2 transcript was significantly upregulated under different environmental stresses including low temperature (15°C), high salinity (salinity of 62 and 93), and nitrogen starvation (220 μmol/L). Heterologous expression indicated that yeast cells transformed with a plasmid construct containing IgFAD2 could convert endogenous oleic acid (18:1Δ9, OA) into linoleic acid (18:2Δ9, 12, LA). These findings confirm that I. galbana IgFAD2 plays important roles in the biosynthetic pathways of unsaturated fatty acids.