Skip to main content
Plant Physiology logoLink to Plant Physiology
. 1994 Sep;106(1):143–150. doi: 10.1104/pp.106.1.143

A Mutant of Arabidopsis Deficient in the Elongation of Palmitic Acid.

J Wu 1, D W James Jr 1, H K Dooner 1, J Browse 1
PMCID: PMC159509  PMID: 12232312

Abstract

The overall fatty acid composition of leaf lipids in a mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana was characterized by an increased level of 16:0 and a concomitant decrease of 18-carbon fatty acids as a consequence of a single recessive nuclear mutation at the fab1 locus. Quantitative analysis of the fatty acid composition of individual lipids established that lipids synthesized by both the prokaryotic and eukaryotic pathways were affected by the mutation. Direct enzyme assays demonstrated that the mutant plants were deficient in the activity of 3-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase II; therefore, it is inferred that fab1 may encode this enzyme. Labeling experiments with [14C]acetate and lipase positional analysis indicated that the mutation results in a small shift in the partitioning of lipid synthesis between the prokaryotic and eukaryotic pathways. Synthesis of chloroplast lipids by the prokaryotic pathway was increased with a corresponding reduction in the eukaryotic pathway.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (815.6 KB).

Selected References

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

  1. Browse J., Kunst L., Anderson S., Hugly S., Somerville C. A mutant of Arabidopsis deficient in the chloroplast 16:1/18:1 desaturase. Plant Physiol. 1989 Jun;90(2):522–529. doi: 10.1104/pp.90.2.522. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Browse J., McConn M., James D., Jr, Miquel M. Mutants of Arabidopsis deficient in the synthesis of alpha-linolenate. Biochemical and genetic characterization of the endoplasmic reticulum linoleoyl desaturase. J Biol Chem. 1993 Aug 5;268(22):16345–16351. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Browse J., McCourt P., Somerville C. R. A mutant of Arabidopsis lacking a chloroplast-specific lipid. Science. 1985 Feb 15;227(4688):763–765. doi: 10.1126/science.227.4688.763. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Browse J., Warwick N., Somerville C. R., Slack C. R. Fluxes through the prokaryotic and eukaryotic pathways of lipid synthesis in the '16:3' plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Biochem J. 1986 Apr 1;235(1):25–31. doi: 10.1042/bj2350025. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Datko A. H., Mudd S. H. Phosphatidylcholine synthesis: differing patterns in soybean and carrot. Plant Physiol. 1988 Nov;88(3):854–861. doi: 10.1104/pp.88.3.854. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Garwin J. L., Klages A. L., Cronan J. E., Jr Structural, enzymatic, and genetic studies of beta-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthases I and II of Escherichia coli. J Biol Chem. 1980 Dec 25;255(24):11949–11956. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Heinz E., Roughan P. G. Similarities and differences in lipid metabolism of chloroplasts isolated from 18:3 and 16:3 plants. Plant Physiol. 1983 Jun;72(2):273–279. doi: 10.1104/pp.72.2.273. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Jaworski J. G., Clough R. C., Barnum S. R. A Cerulenin Insensitive Short Chain 3-Ketoacyl-Acyl Carrier Protein Synthase in Spinacia oleracea Leaves. Plant Physiol. 1989 May;90(1):41–44. doi: 10.1104/pp.90.1.41. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Khan M. U., Williams J. P. Improved thin-layer chromatographic method for the separation of major phospholipids and glycolipids from plant lipid extracts and phosphatidyl glycerol and bis(monoacylglyceryl) phosphate from animal lipid extracts. J Chromatogr. 1977 Oct 11;140(2):179–185. doi: 10.1016/s0021-9673(00)88412-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kunst L., Browse J., Somerville C. A mutant of Arabidopsis deficient in desaturation of palmitic Acid in leaf lipids. Plant Physiol. 1989 Jul;90(3):943–947. doi: 10.1104/pp.90.3.943. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Miquel M., Browse J. Arabidopsis mutants deficient in polyunsaturated fatty acid synthesis. Biochemical and genetic characterization of a plant oleoyl-phosphatidylcholine desaturase. J Biol Chem. 1992 Jan 25;267(3):1502–1509. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Murata N., Yamaya J. Temperature-dependent phase behavior of phosphatidylglycerols from chilling-sensitive and chilling-resistant plants. Plant Physiol. 1984 Apr;74(4):1016–1024. doi: 10.1104/pp.74.4.1016. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Ohlrogge J. B., Browse J., Somerville C. R. The genetics of plant lipids. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1991 Feb 26;1082(1):1–26. doi: 10.1016/0005-2760(91)90294-r. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Roughan P. G., Mudd J. B., McManus T. T., Slack C. R. Linoleate and alpha-linolenate synthesis by isolated spinach (Spinacia oleracea) chloroplasts. Biochem J. 1979 Dec 15;184(3):571–574. doi: 10.1042/bj1840571. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Roughan P. G. Phosphatidylglycerol and chilling sensitivity in plants. Plant Physiol. 1985 Mar;77(3):740–746. doi: 10.1104/pp.77.3.740. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Sparace S. A., Mudd J. B. Phosphatidylglycerol synthesis in spinach chloroplasts: characterization of the newly synthesized molecule. Plant Physiol. 1982 Nov;70(5):1260–1264. doi: 10.1104/pp.70.5.1260. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES