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. 2016 Feb 2;5(2):19. doi: 10.3390/jcm5020019

Figure 1.

Figure 1

(A) Biosynthesis of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in C. elegans. Unlike most other animals, C. elegans possesses ∆12 desaturase and ω3 desaturase enzymes, and therefore does not require essential dietary fatty acids to synthesize a range of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids; (B) Mutant strains lacking functional desaturase enzymes are depleted in specific polyunsaturated fatty acids. The area of each circle represents the ratio of specific fatty acids relative to total fatty acid content. Data shown are representative examples of multiple GC/MS measurements. Abbreviations: ELO, elongase; SA, stearic acid; OA, oleic acid; LA, linoleic acid; ALA, alpha-linolenic acid; GLA, gamma-linolenic acid; STA, stearidonic acid; DGLA, dihommo gamma-linolenic acid; ETA, eicosatrienoic acid; AA, arachidonic acid; EPA, eicosapentaenoic acid. Figure is modified from [23].