DES2 is a fatty acid Δ11 desaturase capable of synthesizing palmitvaccenic acid in the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Rhizophagus irregularis.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are oleaginous organisms, and the most abundant fatty acyl moiety usually found in their lipids is palmitvaccenic acid (16:1 ). However, it is not known how this uncommon fatty acid species is made. Here, we have cloned two homologues of lepidopteran fatty acyl-coenzyme A Δ11 desaturases from the AM fungus Rhizophagus irregularis.