Mouse Fat-Specific Protein 27 (FSP27) expressed in plant cells localizes to lipid droplets and promotes lipid droplet accumulation and fusion
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Biochemistry & Molecular Biology↗
Engineering topics
Chapman, Kent D.
Publications and source records attributed to Chapman, Kent D..
Heterogeneous Distribution of Erucic Acid in Brassica napus Seeds
Brassica napus (B. napus) is the world's most widely grown temperate oilseed crop. Although breeding for human consumption has led to removal of erucic acid from refined canola oils, there is renewed interest in the industrial uses of erucic acid derived from B. napus, and there is a rich germplasm available for use. Here, low- and high-erucic acid accessions of B. napus seeds were examined for the distribution of erucic acid-containing lipids and the gene transcripts encoding the enzymes involved in pathways for its incorporation into triacylglycerols (TAGs) across the major tissues of the seeds. In general, the results indicate that a heterogeneous distribution of erucic acid across B. napus seed tissues was contributed by two isoforms (out of six) of FATTY ACYL COA ELONGASE (FAE1) and a combination of phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (PDAT)- and diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT)-mediated incorporation of erucic acid into TAGs in cotyledonary tissues. An absence of the expression of these two FAE1 isoforms accounted for the absence of erucic acid in the TAGs of the lowerucic accession.
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
Elevated levels of N-lauroylethanolamine, an endogenous constituent of desiccated seeds, disrupt normal root development in Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings
N-Acylethanolamines (NAEs) are prevalent in desiccated seeds of various plant species, and their levels decline substantially during seed imbibition and germination. Here, seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. were germinated in, and seedlings maintained on, micromolar concentrations of N-lauroylethanolamine (NAE 12:0). NAE 12:0 inhibited root elongation, increased radial swelling of root tips, and reduced root hair numbers in a highly selective and concentration-dependent manner. These effects were reversible when seedlings were transferred to NAE-free medium. Older seedlings (14 days old) acclimated to exogenous NAE by increased formation of lateral roots, and generally, these lateral roots did not exhibit the severe symptoms observed in primary roots. Cells of NAE-treated primary roots were swollen and irregular in shape, and in many cases showed evidence, at the light- and electron-microscope levels, of improper cell wall formation. Microtubule arrangement was disrupted in severely distorted cells close to the root tip, and endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-localized green fluorescent protein (mGFP5-ER) was more abundant, aggregated and distributed differently in NAE-treated root cells, suggesting disruption of proper cell division, endomembrane organization and vesicle trafficking. These results suggest that NAE 12:0 likely influences normal cell expansion in roots by interfering with intracellular membrane trafficking to and/or from the cell surface. The rapid metabolism of NAEs during seed imbibition/germination may be a mechanism to remove this endogenous class of lipid mediators to allow for synchronized membrane reorganization associated with cell expansion.
Non-NASA Center↗