Patent ID: 8859849

Claim:
A method for producing at least one polyunsaturated fatty acid in an oilseed plant cell, said method comprising: (a) transforming an oilseed plant cell with: (i) a first recombinant DNA construct comprising a polynucleotide encoding at least one delta-8 desaturase polypeptide having delta-8 desaturase activity, wherein the polypeptide has at least 80% amino acid identity, based on the Clustal V method of alignment, when compared to an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:47, SEQ ID NO:49 or SEQ ID NO:57, wherein the polynucleotide encoding the at least one delta-8 desaturase polypeptide is operably linked to at least one regulatory sequence; and (ii) at least one additional recombinant DNA construct comprising a polynucleotide, operably linked to at least one regulatory sequence, encoding a polypeptide selected from the group consisting of a delta-4 desaturase, a delta-5 desaturase, a delta-6 desaturase, a delta-8 desaturase, a delta-12 desaturase, a delta-15 desaturase, a delta-17 desaturase, a delta-9 desaturase, a delta-9 elongase, a C 14/16 elongase, a C 16/18 elongase, a C 18/20 elongase and a C 20/22 elongase; (b) regenerating an oilseed plant from the transformed cell of step (a); and (c) selecting those seeds obtained from the plants of step (b) having an altered level of polyunsaturated fatty acids when compared to the level in seeds obtained from a nontransformed oilseed plant.