Oxidoreductases;
Acting on paired donors, with incorporation or reduction of molecular oxygen;
With oxidation of a pair of donors resulting in the reduction of O2 to two molecules of water
The enzyme introduces a cis double bond at position C-11 of saturated fatty acyl-CoAs. In moths the enzyme participates in the biosynthesis of their sex pheromones. The enzyme from the marine microalga Thalassiosira pseudonana is specific for palmitoyl-CoA (16:0) [4], that from the leafroller moth Choristoneura rosaceana desaturates myristoyl-CoA (14:0) [5], while that from the moth Spodoptera littoralis accepts both substrates [1]. The enzyme contains three histidine boxes that are conserved in all desaturases [2]. It is membrane-bound, and contains a cytochrome b5-like domain at the N-terminus that serves as the electron donor for the active site of the desaturase.
History
EC 1.14.19.5 created 2008 (EC 1.14.99.32 created 2000, incorporated 2015), modified 2015