Glycerolipids synthesis from phosphatidic acid

In plants, glycerolipid biosynthesis involves a complex web of reactions distributed among multiple compartments [11,12]. As in mammals (Chapters 8 and 10), the synthesis of individual glycerolipids is initiated either by the formation of CDP-diacylglycerol from phosphatidic acid and CTP, or by cleavage of phosphate from phosphatidic acid to produce diacylglycerol. 

FIGURE 25.18 Synthesis of glycerolipids in eukaryotes begins with the formation of phosphatidic acid, which may be formed from dihydroxyace-tone phosphate or glycerol as shown. 

Figure 21-3 Major pathways of synthesis of fatty acids and glycerolipids in the green plant Arabidopsis. The major site of fatty acid synthesis is chloroplasts. Most is exported to the cytosol as oleic acid (18 1). After conversion to its coenzyme A derivative it is converted to phosphatidic acid (PA), diacylglycerol (DAG), and the phospholipids phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). Desaturation also occurs, and some linoleic and linolenic acids are returned to the chloroplasts. See text also. From Sommerville and Browse.106 See also Figs. 21-4 and 21-5. Other abbreviations monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGD), digalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGD), sulfolipid (SL), glycerol 3-phosphate (G3P), lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), acyl carrier protein (ACP), cytidine diphosphate-DAG (CDP-DAG).

In the plastids, acyltransferases provide a direct route for entrance of acyl groups from ACP to membrane lipids. Since this is the standard pathway for phosphatidic acid synthesis in E. coli and cyanobacteria, both the enzymes of phosphatidic acid synthesis in plastids and the glycerolipid backbones they produce are termed prokaryotic . In both chloroplasts and non-green plastids, the glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase is a soluble enzyme that, unlike the E. coli enzyme, shows preference for 18 1-ACP over 16 0-ACP. The lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase, which is a component of the inner envelope of plastids, is extremely selective for 16 0-ACP. The presence of a 16-carbon fatty acid at the... 

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