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. 1978 Aug;62(2):173–178. doi: 10.1104/pp.62.2.173

Fatty Acid Synthesis in Endosperm of Young Castor Bean Seedlings 1

Brady Vick 1,2, Harry Beevers 1
PMCID: PMC1092084  PMID: 16660480

Abstract

Enzyme assays on organelles isolated from the endosperm of germinating castor bean (Ricinus communis) by sucrose density gradient centrifugation showed that fatty acid synthesis from [14C]malonyl-CoA was localized exclusively in the plastids. The optimum pH was 7.7 and the products was mainly free palmitic and oleic acids. Both NADH and NADPH were required as reductants for maximum activity. Acetyl-CoA, and acyl-carrier protein from Escherichia coli increased the rate of fatty acid synthesis, while low O2 levels suppressed synthesis. In the absence of NADPH or at low O2 concentration, stearic acid became a major product at the expense of oleic acid. Fatty acid synthesis activity was highest during the first 3 days of germination, preceding the maximum development of mitochondria and glyoxysomes. It is proposed that the plastids are the source of fatty acids incorporated into the membranes of developing organelles.

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Selected References

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

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