Metabolic engineering to produce γ-linolenic acid in Brassica napus using a Δ6-desaturase from pike eel

We generated γ-linolenic acid (GLA, C18:3 Δ6,9,12 )-producing transgenic Brassica napus transformed with McD6DES , the Δ6-desaturase gene identified from pike eel ( Muraenesox cinereus ) under the control of the seed-specific vicilin promoter. Seed-specific expression of McD6DES in B. napus produced up to 8.4% of GLA by creating a double bond at the sixth position from the carboxyl end of linoleic acid (LA, C18:2 Δ9,12 ) in seeds. These results demonstrate that McD6DES expression enables to reconstitute in polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthetic pathways, highlighting the potential of GLA biosynthesis as a target for metabolic engineering of oilseed crops.