Publications by authors named "Martin Fulda"

Plant response to environmental stimuli involves integration of multiple signals. Upon low-oxygen stress, plants initiate a set of adaptive responses to circumvent an energy crisis. Here, we reveal how these stress responses are induced by combining () energy-dependent changes in the composition of the acyl-CoA pool and () the cellular oxygen concentration.

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Scope: The study aims at identifying 1) the most sensitive compartment among plasma phospholipids, erythrocytes, and LDL for studying alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) conversion, and 2) whether ALA incorporation and conversion is saturable after administration of C-labeled ALA-rich linseed oil (LO). The effect of a daily intake of 7 g nonlabeled LO (>43% w/w ALA) for 1 month after bolus administration of 7 g C-labeled LO on day 1, and for 2 months after bolus administration of 7 g C-labeled LO on day 1 and day 29 on C-ALA incorporation and conversion into its higher homologs is investigated in healthy volunteers.

Methods And Results: Incorporation and conversion of LO-derived C-labeled ALA is quantified by applying compartmental modeling.

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ABP1 and TIR1/AFBs are known as auxin receptors. ABP1 is linked to auxin responses several of which are faster than 10 min. TIR1 regulates auxin-induced transcription of early auxin genes also within minutes.

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Cyanobacteria are potential hosts for the biosynthesis of oleochemical compounds. The metabolic precursors for such compounds are fatty acids and their derivatives, which require chemical activation to become substrates in further conversion steps. We characterized the acyl activating enzyme AAE15 of Arabidopsis encoded by At4g14070, which is a homologue of a cyanobacterial acyl-ACP synthetase (AAS).

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In plants, fatty acids are synthesized within the plastid and need to be distributed to the different sites of lipid biosynthesis within the cell. Free fatty acids released from the plastid need to be converted to their corresponding coenzyme A thioesters to become metabolically available. This activation is mediated by long-chain acyl-coenzyme A synthetases (LACSs), which are encoded by a family of nine genes in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana).

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Establishment and maintenance of equilibrium in the fatty acid (FA) composition of phospholipids (PL) requires both regulation of the substrate available for PL synthesis (the acyl-CoA pool) and extensive PL turnover and acyl editing. In the present study, we utilize acyl-CoA synthetase (ACS) deficient cells, unable to recycle FA derived from lipid deacylation, to evaluate the role of several enzymatic activities in FA trafficking and PL homeostasis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The data presented show that phospholipases B are not contributing to constitutive PL deacylation and are therefore unlikely to be involved in PL remodeling.

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Very long chain lipids are important components of the plant cuticle that establishes the boundary surface of aerial organs. In addition, these lipids were detected in the extracellular pollen coat (tryphine), where they play a crucial role in appropriate pollen-stigma communication. As such they are involved in the early interaction of pollen with the stigma.

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All photosynthetic organisms face the difficulty of maintaining cellular metabolism in the absence of photosynthetic active radiation during the night. Although many consuming metabolic pathways (e.g.

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In order to identify novel genes encoding enzymes involved in the terminal step of triacylglycerol (TAG) formation, a database search was carried out in the genome of the unicellular photoautotrophic green alga Ostreococcus tauri. The search led to the identification of three putative type 2 acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase-like sequences (DGAT; EC 2.3.

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In cyanobacteria fatty acids destined for lipid synthesis can be synthesized de novo, but also exogenous free fatty acids from the culture medium can be directly incorporated into lipids. Activation of exogenous fatty acids is likely required prior to their utilization. To identify the enzymatic activity responsible for activation we cloned candidate genes from Synechocystis sp.

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Fatty acid beta-oxidation is essential for seedling establishment of oilseed plants, but little is known about its role in leaf metabolism of adult plants. Arabidopsis thaliana plants with loss-of-function mutations in the peroxisomal ABC-transporter1 (PXA1) or the core beta-oxidation enzyme keto-acyl-thiolase 2 (KAT2) have impaired peroxisomal beta-oxidation. pxa1 and kat2 plants developed severe leaf necrosis, bleached rapidly when returned to light, and died after extended dark treatment, whereas the wild type was unaffected.

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omega3-Very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLCPUFA) are essential for human development and brain function and, thus, are indispensable components of the human diet. The current main source of VLCPUFAs is represented by ocean fish stocks, which are in severe decline, and the development of alternative, sustainable sources of VLCPUFAs is urgently required. Our research aims at exploiting the powerful infrastructure available for the large scale culture of oilseed crops, such as rapeseed, to produce VLCPUFAs such as eicosapentaenoic acid in transgenic plants.

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In the present study, acyl-CoA synthetase mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were employed to investigate the impact of this activity on certain pools of fatty acids. We identified a genotype responsible for the secretion of free fatty acids into the culture medium. The combined deletion of Faa1p and Faa4p encoding two out of five acyl-CoA synthetases was necessary and sufficient to establish mutant cells that secreted fatty acids in a growth-phase dependent manner.

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Plastidial glycolipids contain diacylglycerol (DAG) moieties, which are either synthesized in the plastids (prokaryotic lipids) or originate in the extraplastidial compartment (eukaryotic lipids) necessitating their transfer into plastids. In contrast, the only phospholipid in plastids, phosphatidylglycerol (PG), contains exclusively prokaryotic DAG backbones. PG contributes in several ways to the functions of chloroplasts, but it is not known to what extent its prokaryotic nature is required to fulfill these tasks.

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It is desirable to produce high homogeneity of novel fatty acids in oilseeds through genetic engineering to meet the increasing demands of the oleo-chemical industry. However, expression of key enzymes for biosynthesis of industrial fatty acids usually results in low levels of desired fatty acids in transgenic oilseeds. The abundance of derivatized fatty acids in their natural species suggests that additional genes are needed for high production in transgenic plants.

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Plant cells are known to elongate exogenously provided fatty acid (FA), but the subcellular sites and mechanisms for this process are not currently understood. When Arabidopsis leaves were incubated with 14C-FAs with View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The biosynthesis of arachidonic acid (20:4(Delta5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z)) from linoleic acid in plants by transgenic means requires the sequential and specific action of two desaturation reactions and one elongation reaction. Here, we describe the isolation of a specific acyl-lipid-desaturase catalyzing the formation of the double bond at position 5 from a cDNA library from Phytophthora megasperma. The isolated full-length cDNA harbors a sequence of 1740 bp encoding a protein of 477 amino acids with a calculated molecular weight of 53.

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In plants and other eukaryotes, long-chain acyl-CoAs are assumed to be imported into peroxisomes for beta-oxidation by an ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter. However, two genes in Arabidopsis thaliana, LACS6 and LACS7, encode peroxisomal long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase (LACS) isozymes. To investigate the biochemical and biological roles of peroxisomal LACS, we identified T-DNA knockout mutants for both genes.

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Acyl-activating enzymes are a diverse group of proteins that catalyze the activation of many different carboxylic acids, primarily through the formation of a thioester bond. This group of enzymes is found in all living organisms and includes the acyl-coenzyme A synthetases, 4-coumarate:coenzyme A ligases, luciferases, and non-ribosomal peptide synthetases. The members of this superfamily share little overall sequence identity, but do contain a 12-amino acid motif common to all enzymes that activate their acid substrates using ATP via an enzyme-bound adenylate intermediate.

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Post-germinative growth of oilseeds is dependent on the breakdown of the stored lipid reserves. Long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase activities (LACS) are critically involved in this process by activating the released free fatty acids and thus feeding the beta-oxidation cycle in glyoxysomes. Here we report on the identification of two LACS genes, AtLACS6 and AtLACS7 from Arabidopsis thaliana coding for peroxisomal LACS proteins.

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Long-chain acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) synthetases (LACSs) activate free fatty acids to acyl-CoA thioesters and as such play critical roles in fatty acid metabolism. This important class of enzymes factors prominently in several fatty acid-derived metabolic pathways, including phospholipid, triacylglycerol, and jasmonate biosynthesis and fatty acid beta-oxidation. In an effort to better understand the factors that control fatty acid metabolism in oilseeds, we have sought to identify and characterize genes that encode LACSs in Arabidopsis.

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