Figure 2.

Effects of FAS inhibition on lipids and fatty acid contents in Chlamydomonas. Cells growing exponentially in Tris-acetate phosphate (TAP) medium were treated with 10 μm cerulenin for 8 h. A and B, Quantification of polar lipids (A) and fatty acid levels (B) from Chlamydomonas cells in the absence (black bars) or presence (gray bars) of cerulenin. The inset in A shows the MGDG/DGDG ratio in control and cerulenin-treated cells. Three biological replicates were analyzed for each condition. *, Differences were significant at P < 0.05 according to Student’s t test. Error bars indicate sd. SQDG, Sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol. C, Cerulenin prevents the formation of LDs under nitrogen starvation. Chlamydomonas cells in the exponential growth phase were washed twice with nitrogen-free (TAP-N) or nitrogen-containing (TAP; control) medium and grown under these conditions for 24 h in the absence or presence of 10 μm cerulenin. Lipid bodies were stained with Nile Red and visualized by fluorescence microscopy. DGTS, diacylglycerol-N,N,N-trimethylhomoserine; PG, phosphatidylglycerol; PE, phosphatidylethanolamine; PA, phosphatidic acid; PC, phosphatidylcholine; PI, phosphatidylinositol. Bars = 10 μm.