In vivo lipid ‘tag and track’ approach shows acyl editing of plastid lipids and chloroplast import of phosphatidylglycerol precursors in Arabidopsis thaliana
[1];
[3]
- DOE Plant Research Laboratory Michigan State University East Lansing MI 48824 USA, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Michigan State University East Lansing MI 48824 USA
- DOE Plant Research Laboratory Michigan State University East Lansing MI 48824 USA
- DOE Plant Research Laboratory Michigan State University East Lansing MI 48824 USA, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Michigan State University East Lansing MI 48824 USA, Department of Plant Biology Michigan State University East Lansing MI USA
Summary In plant lipid metabolism, the synthesis of many intermediates or end products often appears overdetermined with multiple synthesis pathways acting in parallel. Lipid metabolism is also dynamic with interorganelle transport, turnover, and remodeling of lipids. To explore this complexity in vivo , we developed an in vivo lipid ‘tag and track’ method. Essentially, we probed the lipid metabolism in Arabidopsis thaliana by expressing a coding sequence for a fatty acid desaturase from Physcomitrella patens (Δ6D). This enzyme places a double bond after the 6th carbon from the carboxyl end of an acyl group attached to phosphatidylcholine at its sn‐ 2 glyceryl position providing a subtle, but easily trackable modification of the glycerolipid. Phosphatidylcholine is a central intermediate in plant lipid metabolism as it is modified and converted to precursors for other lipids throughout the plant cell. Taking advantage of the exclusive location of Δ6D in the endoplasmic reticulum ( ER ) and its known substrate specificity for one of the two acyl groups on phosphatidylcholine, we were able to ‘tag and track’ the distribution of lipids within multiple compartments and their remodeling in transgenic lines of different genetic backgrounds. Key findings were the presence of ER ‐derived precursors in plastid phosphatidylglycerol and prevalent acyl editing of thylakoid lipids derived from multiple pathways. We expect that this ‘tag and track’ method will serve as a tool to address several unresolved aspects of plant lipid metabolism, such as the nature and interaction of different subcellular glycerolipid pools during plant development or in response to adverse conditions.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- FG02-91ER20021; FG02-98ER20305
- OSTI ID:
- 1460894
- Journal Information:
- The Plant Journal, Journal Name: The Plant Journal Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 95; ISSN 0960-7412
- Publisher:
- Wiley-BlackwellCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Language:
- English
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