Fatty acid hydroperoxide dependent oxidation, pathways

Since AA is only a minor fatty acid in higher plants, eicosanoids are not of major importance for plant physiology. However, the oxygenation metabolites of linoleic acid and a-linolenic acid, called oxylipins [5,6], do play a role in plant defence reactions, in the formation of phytohormones and in the synthesis of cutin monomers [6,40-43]. Oxylipins constitute a family of lipids that are formed from free fatty acids by a cascade of reactions involving at least one step of dioxygen-dependent oxidation. The biosynthesis of oxylipins proceeds via a large number of metabolic pathways, most of which involve an unsaturated hydroperoxy fatty acid as intermediate (Scheme 10). Conversion of the hydroperoxide via the peroxide lyase pathway, the allene oxide pathway and the recently discovered peroxygenase pathway, leads to a complex pattern of oxidized lipid mediators. 

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