Biotechnological potential of insect fatty acid-modifying enzymes

0480183 - ÚOCHB 2018 RIV DE eng J - Journal Article
Tupec, Michal - Buček, Aleš - Valterová, Irena - Pichová, Iva
Biotechnological potential of insect fatty acid-modifying enzymes.
Zeitschrift fuer Naturforschung. Section C: a Journal of Biosciences. Roč. 72, 9/10 (2017), s. 387-403. ISSN 0939-5075. E-ISSN 1865-7125
R&D Projects: GA ČR GA15-06569S; GA MŠMT LD15102; GA MŠMT LO1302
Institutional support: RVO:61388963
Keywords : fatty acyl desaturases * fatty acyl reductases * lipases * pheromones
OECD category: Biochemistry and molecular biology
Impact factor: 0.882, year: 2017
https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/znc.2017.72.issue-9-10/znc-2017-0031/znc-2017-0031.xml

There are more than one million described insect species. This species richness is reflected in the diversity of insect metabolic processes. In particular, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, such as defensive compounds and chemical signals, encompasses an extraordinarily wide range of chemicals that are generally unparalleled among natural products from other organisms. Insect genomes, transcriptomes and proteomes thus offer a valuable resource for discovery of novel enzymes with potential for biotechnological applications. Here, we focus on fatty acid (FA) metabolism-related enzymes, notably the fatty acyl desaturases and fatty acyl reductases involved in the biosynthesis of FA-derived pheromones. Research on insect pheromone-biosynthetic enzymes, which exhibit diverse enzymatic properties, has the potential to broaden the understanding of enzyme specificity determinants and contribute to engineering of enzymes with desired properties for biotechnological production of FA derivatives. Additionally, the application of such pheromone-biosynthetic enzymes represents an environmentally friendly and economic alternative to the chemical synthesis of pheromones that are used in insect pest management strategies.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0276063