Transgenic mice Fat-1 mice convert n -6 to n -3 fatty acids

• Published in: Nature 2004-02, Vol.427 (6974), p.504-504
• Main Authors: Kang, Jing X, Wang, Jingdong, Wu, Lin, Kang, Zhao B
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Body Composition; Caenorhabditis elegans - genetics; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - genetics; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - metabolism; Dietary Fats - administration & dosage; Dietary Fats - pharmacology; Disease Susceptibility; fat-1 gene; Fatty Acid Desaturases - genetics; Fatty Acid Desaturases - metabolism; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 - administration & dosage; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 - metabolism; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 - pharmacology; Fatty Acids, Omega-6 - administration & dosage; Fatty Acids, Omega-6 - metabolism; Fatty Acids, Omega-6 - pharmacology; Food; Food Industry - trends; Mice; Mice, Transgenic
• ISSN: 0028-0836; 1476-4687
• DOI: 10.1038/427504a

Mammals cannot naturally produce omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids - beneficial nutrients found mainly in fish oil - from the more abundant omega-6 (n-6) fatty acids and so they must rely on a dietary supply. Here we show that mice engineered to carry a fat-1 gene from the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans can add a double bond into an unsaturated fatty-acid hydrocarbon chain and convert n-6 to n-3 fatty acids. This results in an abundance of n-3 and a reduction in n-6 fatty acids in the organs and tissues of these mice, in the absence of dietary n-3. As well as presenting an opportunity to investigate the roles played by n-3 fatty acids in the body, our discovery indicates that this technology might be adapted to enrich n-3 fatty acids in animal products such as meat, milk and eggs.