Skip to main content
Plant Physiology logoLink to Plant Physiology
. 1988 Sep;88(1):56–60. doi: 10.1104/pp.88.1.56

Acyl Coenzyme A Preference of the Glycerol Phosphate Pathway in the Microsomes from the Maturing Seeds of Palm, Maize, and Rapeseed 1

Chao Sun 1, Yi-zhi Cao 1, Anthony H C Huang 1,2
PMCID: PMC1055525  PMID: 16666279

Abstract

The acyl coenzyme A (CoA) preference of the glycerol phosphate pathway in the microsomes from the maturing seeds of palm (Butia capitata Becc.), maize (Zea mays L.), and rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) was tested. Each microsomal preparation was incubated with [14C-U]-glycerol-3-phosphate and either lauroyl CoA, oleoyl CoA, or erucoyl CoA, and the 14C-lipid products were separated and quantitated. In the presence of oleoyl CoA, the microsomes from each of the three species produced lysophosphatidic acid, phosphatidic acid, diacylglycerol, and triacylglycerol with kinetics consistent with the operation of the glycerol phosphate pathway. In the presence of erucoyl CoA, the microsomes from all the three species did not produce di- or tri-acyl lipids. In the presence of lauroyl CoA, only the microsomes from palm, but not those from maize or rapeseed, synthesized di- and tri-acyl lipids. This lack of reactivity of lauroyl CoA was also observed in the microsomes from maturing castor bean, peanut, and soybean. In maize seed and rapeseed, but not palm seed, the kinetics of labeling suggest that lauroyl and erucoyl moieties of the acyl CoAs were incorporated into lysophosphatidic acid but failed to enter into phosphatidic acid and thus the subsequent lipid products. We propose that the high degree of acyl specificity of lysophosphatidyl acyltransferase is the blocking step in the synthesis of triacylglycerols using lauroyl CoA or erucoyl CoA. The significance of the findings in seed oil biotechnology is discussed.

Full text

PDF

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Brockerhoff H., Yurkowski M. Stereospecific analyses of several vegetable fats. J Lipid Res. 1966 Jan;7(1):62–64. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Cao Y. Z., Huang A. H. Acyl coenzyme a preference of diacylglycerol acyltransferase from the maturing seeds of cuphea, maize, rapeseed, and canola. Plant Physiol. 1987 Jul;84(3):762–765. doi: 10.1104/pp.84.3.762. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Cao Y. Z., Huang A. H. Diacylglycerol acyltransferase in maturing oil seeds of maize and other species. Plant Physiol. 1986 Nov;82(3):813–820. doi: 10.1104/pp.82.3.813. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Constantinides P. P., Steim J. M. Solubility of palmitoyl-coenzyme A in acyltransferase assay buffers containing magnesium ions. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1986 Oct;250(1):267–270. doi: 10.1016/0003-9861(86)90726-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Griffiths G., Stobart A. K., Stymne S. The acylation of sn-glycerol 3-phosphate and the metabolism of phosphatidate in microsomal preparations from the developing cotyledons of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) seed. Biochem J. 1985 Sep 1;230(2):379–388. doi: 10.1042/bj2300379. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Ichihara K., Asahi T., Fujii S. 1-Acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase in maturing safflower seeds and its contribution to the non-random fatty acid distribution of triacylglycerol. Eur J Biochem. 1987 Sep 1;167(2):339–347. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1987.tb13342.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Ichihara K. sn-Glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase in a particulate fraction from maturing safflower seeds. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1984 Aug 1;232(2):685–698. doi: 10.1016/0003-9861(84)90589-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Smith R. H., Powell G. L. The critical micelle concentration of some physiologically important fatty acyl-coenzyme A's as a function of chain length. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1986 Jan;244(1):357–360. doi: 10.1016/0003-9861(86)90124-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Yamashita S., Hosaka K., Miki Y., Numa S. Glycerolipid acyltransferases from rat liver: 1-acylglycerophosphate acyltransferase, 1-acylglycerophosphorylcholine acyltransferase, and diacylglycerol acyltransferase. Methods Enzymol. 1981;71(Pt 100):528–536. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(81)71063-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Plant Physiology are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES