Deficiency in phosphatidylserine decarboxylase activity in the psd1 psd2 psd3 triple mutant of Arabidopsis affects phosphatidylethanolamine accumulation in mitochondria.

Phosphatidylserine (PS) decarboxylase is involved in the synthesis of the abundant phospholipid phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), particularly in mitochondria, in many organisms, including yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and animals. Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) contains three genes with sequence similarity to PS decarboxylases, and the respective gene products were functionally characterized after heterologous expression in yeast and Escherichia coli. While the PSD1 protein localizes to mitochondria, PSD2 and PSD3 are found in the endomembrane system.