Nature Biotechnology
23, 1013 - 1017 (2005)
Published online: 12 June 2005; | doi:10.1038/nbt1107
Stepwise engineering to produce high yields of very long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in plantsGuohai Wu1, Martin Truksa1, Nagamani Datla1, Patricia Vrinten1, Joerg Bauer2, Thorsten Zank3, 4, Petra Cirpus2, Ernst Heinz3
& Xiao Qiu11
Bioriginal Food & Science Corporation, 110 Gymnasium Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
S7N 0W9. 2
BASF Plant Science GmbH, 67117
Limburgerhof, Germany. 3
Biozentrum Klein Flottbek, Universität Hamburg, 22609
Hamburg, Germany. 4
Present address: BASF Plant Science GmbH, 67117
Limburgerhof, Germany.
Correspondence should be addressed to Xiao Qiu xqiu@bioriginal.com Very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLCPUFAs) such as arachidonic acid (AA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are valuable commodities that provide important human health benefits1,
2,
3,
4,
5. We report the transgenic production of significant amounts of AA and EPA in Brassica juncea seeds via a stepwise metabolic engineering strategy. Using a series of transformations with increasing numbers of transgenes, we demonstrate the incremental production of VLCPUFAs, achieving AA levels of up to 25% and EPA levels of up to 15% of total seed fatty acids. Both fatty acids were almost exclusively found in triacylglycerols, with AA located preferentially at sn-2 and sn-3 positions and EPA distributed almost equally at all three positions. Moreover, we reconstituted the DHA biosynthetic pathway in plant seeds, demonstrating the practical feasibility of large-scale production of this important  -3 fatty acid in oilseed crops.
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