Uncovering the Jacaranda mimosifolia FadX gene

In the scope of the iGEM project, we needed to identify and characterize the enzyme responsible for catalyzing the synthesis of jacaric acid, a Conjugated Linolenic Acid (CLnA) with anti-tumoral, anti-inflammatory and anti-obesity properties. This compound is naturally found at a high concentration in the seeds of the plant Jacaranda mimosifolia (hereafter called Jacaranda), however, the genome of this species is not sequenced. To identify which enzyme would catalyze such reaction in Jacaranda, we decided to perform Exome-sequencing on both fresh and germinated seeds.