Figure 11.

Diagram of the relationship between membrane lipids, TAG, and de novo FA synthesis during N-deprivation. Three different routes of FA flux into TAG during N-deprivation: (I) Preexisting membrane lipid acyl chains (synthesized prior to N-deprivation) are incorporated into TAG. (II) Acyl chains newly synthesized during N-deprivation are first esterified on membrane lipids prior to being incorporated into TAG, thus membrane lipids act as intermediates of FA flux into TAG. (III) FAs de novo synthesized during N-deprivation are incorporated directly into TAG.