Skip to main content
Fig. 2 | Genes & Nutrition

Fig. 2

From: Metabolic regulation of lifespan from a C. elegans perspective

Fig. 2

Fatty acid elongation, desaturation, and ceramide synthesis in C. elegans. Fatty acid synthesis is orchestrated by the multifunctional enzyme FASN-1 (red). When the fatty acid is synthesized, it can be modified in several ways or enter the synthesis of more complex lipids. Modifications include elongation of chain length by elongases (blue) and introduction of double bonds by desaturases (green). Both classes of enzymes have high specificity towards the fatty acids they modify. Illustrated here is the example of how the fatty acid palmitate (C16:0) can be further modified to monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids with variating chain length in C. elegans. Highlighted in bold are the fatty acids that have been found to be involved in longevity, monounsaturated fatty acids such as C16:1Δ9 and C18:1Δ9 and polyunsaturated fatty acids C20:3Δ8,11,14 (di-homo-γ-linoleic acid, DGLA) and C20:4Δ5,8,11,14 (arachidonic acid, ALA). Furthermore, a simplification of ceramide synthesis is illustrated. The ceramide synthesis is dependent on the enzymes FATH-1, HYL-1/2, and LAGR-1 (purple). Only a selection of fatty acid metabolism is illustrated

Back to article page