Insights into the phylogenetic and molecular evolutionary histories of and gene families in Actiniaria.

The biosynthesis of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs, ≥ C) is reliant on the action of desaturase and elongase enzymes, which are encoded by the fatty acyl desaturase () and elongation of very long-chain fatty acid () gene families, respectively. In Metazoa, research investigating the distribution and evolution of these gene families has been restricted largely to Bilateria. Here, we provide insights into the phylogenetic and molecular evolutionary histories of the and gene families in Cnidaria, the sister phylum to Bilateria.