Acyl-ACP thioesterase genes and uses therefor

摘要

The present invention provides novel genes encoding Class II acyl-ACP thioesterases and variants thereof that are active on C8, C10, C12, C14, C16, and C18 acyl-ACP substrates. The thioesterases can be introduced into transgenic organisms, including microorganisms and photosynthetic organisms, for producing fatty acids and fatty acid products.

主权项

1. A mutant acyl-ACP thioesterase gene encoding a variant of a C8-preferring acyl-ACP thioesterase comprising a mutation that changes the amino acid at the amino acid position corresponding to amino acid position 174 of SEQ ID NO:29 to valine or isoleucine;
wherein the variant acyl-ACP thioesterase has a higher activity on a C8 substrate than the native acyl-ACP thioesterase while retaining the C8 acyl chain length substrate preference of the native thioesterase, and further wherein said variant comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 95% identity to amino acids 65 to 355 of SEQ ID NO:40, SEQ ID NO:43, or SEQ ID NO:45.