Article
Details
Citation
Lopes-Marques M, Kabeya N, Qian Y, Ruivo R, Santos M, Venkatesh B, Tocher DR, Castro LFC & Monroig O (2018) Retention of fatty acyl desaturase 1 (fads1) in Elopomorpha and Cyclostomata provides novel insights into the evolution of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis in vertebrates. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 18, Art. No.: 157. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-018-1271-5
Abstract
Background
Provision of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) in vertebrates occurs through the diet or via endogenous production from C18 precursors through consecutive elongations and desaturations. It has been postulated that the abundance of LC-PUFA in the marine environment has remarkably modulated the gene complement and function of Fads in marine teleosts. In vertebrates two fatty acyl desaturases, namely Fads1 and Fads2, encode ?5 and ?6 desaturases, respectively. To fully clarify the evolutionary history of LC-PUFA biosynthesis in vertebrates, we investigated the gene repertoire and function of Fads from species placed at key evolutionary nodes.
Results
We demonstrate that functional Fads1Δ5 and Fads2?6 arose from a tandem gene duplication in the ancestor of vertebrates, since they are present in the Arctic lamprey. Additionally, we show that a similar condition was retained in ray-finned fish such as the Senegal bichir and spotted gar, with the identification of fads1 genes in these lineages. Functional characterisation of the isolated desaturases reveals the first case of a Fads1 enzyme with ?5 desaturase activity in the Teleostei lineage, the Elopomorpha. In contrast, in Osteoglossomorpha genomes, while no fads1 was identified, two separate fads2 duplicates with ?6 and ?5 desaturase activities respectively were uncovered.
Conclusions
We conclude that, while the essential genetic components involved LC-PUFA biosynthesis evolved in the vertebrate ancestor, the full completion of the LC-PUFA biosynthesis pathway arose uniquely in gnathostomes.
Keywords
Biosynthesis; Fatty acyl desaturase; Gene duplication; Gene loss; Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids
Journal
BMC Evolutionary Biology: Volume 18
Status | Published |
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Publication date | 19/10/2018 |
Publication date online | 19/10/2018 |
Date accepted by journal | 02/10/2018 |
URL | |
eISSN | 1471-2148 |