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Glycerolipids: Composition, Biosynthesis and Function in Chlamydomonas

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The Molecular Biology of Chloroplasts and Mitochondria in Chlamydomonas

Part of the book series: Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration ((AIPH,volume 7))

Summary

The lipid composition of Chlamydomonas spp. is described. These algae contain all the fatty acids characteristic of higher eukaryotic photosynthetic tissues and also some unusual fatty acids. The chloroplast membranes contain galactolipids, sulfolipid and phosphatidylglycerol as do all photosynthetic membranes. Phosphatidyl-ethanolamine and phosphatidylinositol are found outside the chloroplast, but phosphatidylcholine is absent. Rather, an unusual betaine-containing lipid, diacylglycerol-trimethyl-homoserine, is present. The fatty acid distribution on the sn-1 and sn-2 carbons of the glycerol in different lipid classes is used to propose a scheme for the organization of glycerolipid metabolism in Chlamydomonas spp. in which most of the polyunsaturated fatty acids in the chloroplast are synthesized by the intrachloroplastic desaturase and acylase pathways. A set of experiments which demonstrate the ability of Chlamydomonas spp. to take up lipids from liposomes added to the medium, and consequently to change fatty acid and lipid composition is presented. Mutants affected in lipid composition are described. Four of them are affected in the biosynthesis of phosphatidylglycerol, one is affected in the synthesis of the sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol, while another shows a reduced level of chloroplastic poly-unsaturated fatty acids. Finally, evidence for the involvement of certain lipids such as phosphatidylglycerol or sulfoquinovosyl-diacylglycerol in some steps of thylakoid membrane biogenesis are presented.

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Abbreviations

ACP:

acyl carrier protein

CF0CF1:

CF0CF1 sub-units of the ATP synthase complex

Cl6:0:

palmitic acid

Cl6:Δ7:

Δ7 hexadecamonoenoic acid

Cl6:Δ9:

Δ9 hexadecamonoenoic acid

Cl6:lΔ3t:

Trans-Δ 3-hexadecenoic acid

C16:2:

hexadecadienoic acid

C16:3:

hexadecatrienoic acid

C16:4:

hexadecatetraenoic acid

C18:0:

stearic acid

Cl8:lΔ9:

oleic acid

Cl8:lΔ11:

cis-vaccenic acid

C18:2:

linoleic acid

Cl8:3Δ5,9,12:

Δ5,9,12 octadecatrienoic acid

Cl8:3Δ9,12,15:

α-linolenic acid

C20:4:

eicosatetrienoic acid

DGDG:

digalactosyldiacylglycerol

DGTS:

digacyl-glycerol-trimethyl-homoserine

LHC I:

Light harvesting chlorophyll a+b protein complex associated with PS I

LHCII:

Light harvesting chlorophyll a+b protein complex associated with PS II

MGDG:

monogalactosyldiacylglycerol

PC:

phosphatidylcholine

PE:

phosphatidylethanolamine

PI:

phosphatidylinositol

PlP2:

polyphosphoinositols

PG:

phosphatidylglycerol

PS I:

Photosystem I

PS II:

Photosystem II

SQDG:

sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut de Biotechnologie des Plantes, Université Paris-Sud, Bâtiment 630, 91405, Orsay Cedex, France

    Antoine Trémolières

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  1. Antoine Trémolières
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Molecular Biology and Plant Biology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

    J. -D. Rochaix  & M. Goldschmidt-Clermont  & 

  2. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Institute, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA

    S. Merchant

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© 1998 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Trémolières, A. (1998). Glycerolipids: Composition, Biosynthesis and Function in Chlamydomonas. In: Rochaix, J.D., Goldschmidt-Clermont, M., Merchant, S. (eds) The Molecular Biology of Chloroplasts and Mitochondria in Chlamydomonas. Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48204-5_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48204-5_21

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-5174-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-306-48204-5

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