Translations:Eicosapentaenoic acid/8/en

Biosynthesis

Aerobic eukaryote pathway

 
EPA via aerobic eukaryote fatty acid synthesis

Aerobic eukaryotes, specifically microalgae, mosses, fungi, and most animals (including humans), perform biosynthesis of EPA usually occurs as a series of desaturation and elongation reactions, catalyzed by the sequential action of desaturase and elongase enzymes. This pathway, originally identified in Thraustochytrium, applies to these groups: