CEFOBI   05405
CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS FOTOSINTETICOS Y BIOQUIMICOS
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Mechanisms of lipid accumulation in nontraditional oilseed species
Autor/es:
ARIAS, CINTIA ; GERRARD WHEELER, MARIEL; ANDREO, CARLOS; DRINCOVICH, MARÍA FABIANA; SAIGO, MARIANA
Lugar:
Puerto Madryn
Reunión:
Congreso; SAIB. XLVI Reunión Anual; 2010
Institución organizadora:
Sociedad Argentina de Investigaciones en Bioquímica y Biología Molecular
Resumen:
The increasing demand of energy has driven the development ofbiofuels. Nonedible crops like castor bean plant (Ricinus communis)emerge as a viable possibility for their production. In this work themechanisms of accumulation of lipid in castor bean and in seeds ofthe model species A. thaliana were investigated. Determinationsperformed on extracts from castor bean endosperm showed that theactivity of NADP-dependent malic enzyme (NADP-ME) reachesits maximum value at the stage of seed development when the fattyacid biosynthesis occurs. NADP-ME produces pyruvate andNADPH, which would be used as a source of carbon and reducingpower to support such metabolic pathway. Three sequenceshomologous to NADP-ME were identified in databases of castor oilplant. Analysis of real-time PCR indicated that all genes areexpressed in all the stages of seed development assayed, although atdifferent levels, and no correlation between a single isoform to theactivity profiles was observed. Finally, single mutant lines of A.thaliana were used as a system for studying the relationshipbetween each enzyme and lipid accumulation. Either the absence ofAtME1 or AtME4 produced a significant decrease in the content ofglycerolipids in seeds, while the absence of AtME2 or AtME3 didnot have any effect, indicating a specific role of certain NADP-MEisoforms in the synthesis of these compounds.