Patent ID: 8778632

Claim:
A method for producing a polyunsaturated fatty acid comprising the steps of: a) isolating a nucleic acid sequence comprising a nucleotide sequence: i) encoding a polypeptide having Δ6-desaturase activity, the polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 95% identity to SEQ ID NO:8 or ii) having at least 95% identity to the nucleotide sequence SEQ ID NO:7, wherein said nucleotide sequence encodes a polypeptide having Δ6-desaturase activity; b) constructing a vector comprising said isolated nucleotide sequence; c) introducing said vector into a host cell for a time and under conditions sufficient for expression of a Δ6-desaturase; and d) exposing said expressed Δ6-desaturase to a substrate polyunsaturated fatty acid in order to convert said substrate to a product polyunsaturated fatty acid.