Patent ID: 7723574

Claim:
A process for the production of a compound of formula (I): in an organism, the process comprising introducing into an organism which comprises a lipid of general formula (III): at least one nucleic acid sequence comprising: a) the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3; b) a nucleic acid sequence which encodes the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 4; or c) a derivative of the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 which encodes a polypeptide with at least 85% identity at the amino acid level with SEQ ID NO: 4, wherein said polypeptide has Δ5-desaturase activity; and expressing said nucleic acid sequence; wherein, in general formulae (I) and (III): Y=a C 10 -C 18 hydrocarbon chain containing up to four carbon-carbon double bonds; R 1 =hydroxyl, coenzyme A (thioester), lysophosphatidylcholine, lysophosphatidylethanolamine, lysophosphatidylglycerol, lysodiphosphatidylglycerol, lysophosphatidylserine, lysophosphatidylinositol, sphingo base or a radical of the formula II: in which R 2 =hydrogen, lysophosphatidyl choline, lysophosphatidylethanolamine, lysophos-phatidylglycerol, lysodiphosphatidylglycerol, lysophosphatidylserine, lysophos-phatidylinositol or saturated or unsaturated C 2 -C 24 -alkylcarbonyl, R 3 =hydrogen, saturated or unsaturated C 2 -C 24 -alkylcarbonyl, or R 2 and R 3 independently of one another are a radical of the formula Ia: in which n=2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 9, m=2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 and p=0 or 3; and wherein an oxygen in the R 1 radical may be replaced by sulphur such that R 1 is bonded to the remainder of the molecule via a thioester linkage.