O. Ishizakinishizawa et al., LOW-TEMPERATURE RESISTANCE OF HIGHER-PLANTS IS SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCEDBY A NONSPECIFIC CYANOBACTERIAL DESATURASE, Nature biotechnology, 14(8), 1996, pp. 1003-1006
A broad-specificity Delta 9 desaturase gene was cloned from the cyanob
acterium Anacystis nidulans. The enzyme introduces a cis-double bond a
t the Delta 9 position of both 16 and 18 carbon saturated fatty acids
linked to many kinds of membrane lipids. The gene was stably introduce
d into tobacco plants under transcriptional control of the cauliflower
mosaic virus 35S promoter, and the enzyme was targeted into plastids
by the transit peptide of the pea RuBisCO small subunit, The transgeni
c plants had a highly reduced level of saturated fatty acid content in
most membrane lipids and exhibited a significant increase in chilling
resistance.