A Desaturase is an enzyme which removes two hydrogen atoms from an organic compound, creating a carbon/carbon double bond. Ribbon diagram of the catalytically perfect enzyme TIM. An enzyme is a protein that catalyzes, or speeds up, a chemical reaction. ... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... An organic compound is any member of a large class of chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon, with the exception of carbides, carbonates, carbon oxides and gases containing carbon. ... General Name, Symbol, Number carbon, C, 6 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 14, 2, p Appearance black (graphite) colorless (diamond) Atomic mass 12. ... Covalently bonded hydrogen and carbon in a molecule of methane. ...

In the biosynthesis of essential fatty acids, an elongase alternates with different desaturases (Δ⁶desaturase, Δ⁵desaturase, Δ⁴desaturase) repeatedly inserting an ethyl group, then forming a double bond. Biosynthesis is a phenomenon where chemical compounds are produced from simpler reagents. ... Essential fatty acids are fatty acids that are required in the human diet. ... In chemistry, an ethyl group is an alkyl functional group derived from ethane (C2H6). ...