Figure 1: Conventional and alternative biosynthetic pathways for the production of PUFAs in eukaryotes.

In green, the switch between ω-3 and ω-6 pathways characteristic of plants and nematodes through the action of ω-3 desaturases (FAD) is highlighted. Desaturases (D) and elongases (E) are shown together with the position at which the enzymatic reaction takes place. Red arrows highlight a proposed pathway for the biosynthesis of ScA and JuA in gymnosperms. For simplicity, the FA substrates here presented do not differentiate between acyl-lipid, acyl-ACP or acyl-CoA that occur either free or bounded to glycolipids. FAs investigated (bold) as well as the bioactive metabolites (blue squares pointed by blue arrows) that were investigated are shown.