Screening for inhibitors of chloroplast galactolipid synthesis acting in membrano and in planta.

The knowledge of the membrane lipid metabolism in photosynthetic cells is expected to benefit from the availability of inhibitors acting at the level of specific enzymes like MGD1 (E.C. 2.

Glycerolipids in photosynthesis: composition, synthesis and trafficking.

Glycerolipids constituting the matrix of photosynthetic membranes, from cyanobacteria to chloroplasts of eukaryotic cells, comprise monogalactosyldiacylglycerol, digalactosyldiacylglycerol, sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol. This review covers our current knowledge on the structural and functional features of these lipids in various cellular models, from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. Their relative proportions in thylakoid membranes result from highly regulated and compartmentalized metabolic pathways, with a cooperation, in the case of eukaryotes, of non-plastidic compartments.

Galvestine-1, a novel chemical probe for the study of the glycerolipid homeostasis system in plant cells.

Plant cells are characterized by the presence of chloroplasts, membrane lipids of which contain up to ∼80% mono- and digalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG and DGDG). The synthesis of MGDG in the chloroplast envelope is essential for the biogenesis and function of photosynthetic membranes, is coordinated with lipid metabolism in other cell compartments and is regulated in response to environmental factors. Phenotypic analyses of Arabidopsis using the recently developed specific inhibitor called galvestine-1 complete previous analyses performed using various approaches, from enzymology, cell biology to genetics.

Role of phosphatidic acid in plant galactolipid synthesis.

Phosphatidic acid (PA) is a precursor metabolite for phosphoglycerolipids and also for galactoglycerolipids, which are essential lipids for formation of plant membranes. PA has in addition a main regulatory role in a number of developmental processes notably in the response of the plant to environmental stresses. We review here the different pools of PA dispatched at different locations in the plant cell and how these pools are modified in different growth conditions, particularly during plastid membrane biogenesis and when the plant is exposed to phosphate deprivation.