TABLE 1.
Fatty acid composition of wild-type and Δ9 desaturase double mutants
| Fatty acid | Wild type | fat-5;fat-7 | fat-5;fat-6 | fat-6;fat-7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:0 | 1.6 ± 0.1 | 2.3 ± 0.1*** | 1.9 ± 0.3 | 1.4 ± 0.3 |
| 16:0 | 5.5 ± 0.5 | 7.1 ± 0.6*** | 6.4 ± 0.6* | 1.6 ± 0.3*** |
| 18:0 | 8.5 ± 1.0 | 9.9 ± 1.2* | 9.4 ± 0.5 | 22.2 ± 1.3*** |
| Total saturated | 15.6 | 19.3 | 17.7 | 25.2 |
| 16:1 | 1.4 ± 0.1 | 1.2 ± 0.1 | 1.1 ± 0.1** | 3.4 ± 0.8*** |
| 18:1Δ9 | 3.2 ± 0.2 | 4.2 ± 0.4** | 3.2 ± 0.2 | —*** |
| 18:1Δ11 | 14.3 ± 1.3 | 13.5 ± 0.6 | 12.6 ± 1.3* | 24.0 ± 1.6*** |
| Total MUFA | 18.9 | 18.9 | 16.9 | 27.4 |
| 18:2 | 3.1 ± 0.1 | 3.5 ± 0.3* | 3.0 ± 0.3 | —*** |
| 20:3 | 4.4 ± 0.4 | 4.1 ± 0.3 | 3.9 ± 0.5 | —*** |
| 20:4n-6 | 2.0 ± 0.4 | 1.7 ± 0.1 | 1.5 ± 0.2 | —*** |
| 20:4n-3 | 5.0 ± 0.6 | 4.5 ± 0.6 | 4.4 ± 0.6 | —*** |
| 20:5 | 11.7 ± 1.7 | 11.0 ± 1.4 | 10.2 ± 1.2 | —*** |
| Total PUFA | 26.2 | 24.8 | 23.0 | — |
| 18:1 Δ13 | — | — | — | 2.0 ± 0.3*** |
| 18:3 Δ8,11,14 | — | — | — | 8.0 ± 2.0*** |
| 18:4 Δ5,8,11,14 | — | — | — | 4.1 ± 0.3*** |
| 18:4 Δ8,11,14,17 | — | — | — | 3.7 ± 0.3*** |
| Total unusual | — | — | — | 17.8 |
| C15iso | 3.9 ± 0.3 | 3.6 ± 0.2 | 4.3 ± 0.4 | 0.7 ± 0.3*** |
| C17iso | 3.1 ± 0.3 | 2.4 ± 0.2* | 3.5 ± 0.2* | 1.5 ± 0.6*** |
| Total branched | 7.0 | 6.0 | 7.4 | 2.2 |
| 17Δ | 19.9 ± 0.9 | 19.1 ± 1.0 | 20.9 ± 1.8 | 18.8 ± 2.1 |
| 19Δ | 13.2 ± 0.9 | 11.7 ± 0.7* | 13.8 ± 0.9 | 8.8 ± 1.5* |
| Total cyclopropane | 33.1 | 30.8 | 34.7 | 27.6 |
Data are weight percentages (mean ± SD) of four to six independent determinations of total worm fatty acids measured by gas chromatography. 17Δ, 9,19-methylenehexadecanoic acid; 19Δ, 11,12-methyleneoctadecanoic acid. Dash indicates fatty acids <0.5%. Values determined to be significantly different from wild-type worms using an unpaired t-test are *P < 0.05, **P < 0.001, and ***P < 0.0001.