Acylated monogalactosyl diacylglycerol : prevalence in the plant kingdom and identification of an enzyme catalyzing galactolipid head group acylation in Arabidopsis thaliana

• The lipid phase of the thylakoid membrane is mainly composed of the galactolipids mono-and digalactosyl diacylglycerol (MGDG and DGDG, respectively). It has been known since the late 1960s that MGDG can be acylated with a third fatty acid to the galactose head group (acyl-MGDG) in plant leaf homogenates. In certain brassicaceous plants like Arabidopsis thaliana, the acyl-MGDG frequently incorporates oxidized fatty acids in the form of the jasmonic acid precursor 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (OPDA). In the present study we further investigated the distribution of acylated and OPDA-containing galactolipids in the plant kingdom. While acyl-MGDG was found to be ubiquitous in green tissue of plants ranging from non-vascular plants to angiosperms, OPDA-containing galactolipids were only present in plants from a few genera. A candidate protein responsible for the acyl transfer was identified in Avena sativa (oat) leaf tissue using biochemical fractionation and proteomics. Knockout of the orthologous gene in A. thaliana resulted in an almost total elimination of the ability to form both non-oxidized and OPDA-containing acyl-MGDG. In addition, heterologous expression of the A. thaliana gene in E. coli demonstrated that the protein catalyzed acylation of MGDG. We thus demonstrate that a phylogenetically conserved enzyme is responsible for the accumulation of acyl-MGDG in A. thaliana. The activity of this enzyme in vivo is strongly enhanced by freezing damage and the hypersensitive response.

Subject headings

LANTBRUKSVETENSKAPER  -- Bioteknologi med applikationer på växter och djur -- Växtbioteknologi (hsv//swe)

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES  -- Agricultural Biotechnology -- Plant Biotechnology (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Botanik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Botany (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Bioinformatik och systembiologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Bioinformatics and Systems Biology (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Biokemi och molekylärbiologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

acylated MGDG

galactolipids

thylakoid membrane

Arabidopsis thaliana

wounding

hypersensitive response

Avena sativa

Acylated MGDG;Galactolipids;thylakoid membrane; Arabidopsis thaliana ;Wounding;hypersensitive response; Avena sativa

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)