Analysis of Phosphoinositides from Complex Plant Samples by Solid-Phase Adsorption Chromatography and Subsequent Quantification via Thin-Layer and Gas Chromatography

Inter-Organellar Effects of Defective ER-Localized Linolenic Acid Formation on Thylakoid Lipid Composition, Non-Photochemical Quenching of Chlorophyll Fluorescence and Xanthophyll Cycle Activity in the Arabidopsis fad3 Mutant

Monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG) is the main lipid constituent of thylakoids and a structural component of photosystems and photosynthesis-related proteo-lipid complexes in green tissues. Previously reported changes in MGDG abundance upon stress treatments are hypothesized to reflect mobilization of MGDG-based polyunsaturated lipid intermediates to maintain extraplastidial membrane integrity. While exchange of lipid intermediates between compartmental membranes is well documented, physiological consequences of mobilizing an essential thylakoid lipid, such as MGDG, for an alternative purpose are not well understood. Arabidopsis seedlings exposed to mild (50 mM) salt treatment displayed significantly increased abundance of both MGDG and the extraplastidial lipid, phosphatidylcholine (PC). Interestingly, similar increases in MGDG and PC were observed in Arabidopsis fad3 mutant seedlings defective in endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-localized linolenic acid formation, in which compensatory plastid-to-ER-directed mobilization of linolenic acid-containing intermediates takes place. The postulated (salt) or evident (fad3) plastid-ER exchange of intermediates concurred with altered thylakoid function according to parameters of photosynthetic performance. While salt treatment of wild-type seedlings inhibited photosynthetic parameters in a dose-dependent manner, interestingly, untreated fad3 mutants did not show overall reduced photosynthetic quantum yield. By contrast, we observed a reduction specifically of non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) under high light, representing only part of observed salt effects. The decreased NPQ in the fad3 mutant was accompanied by reduced activity of the xanthophyll cycle, leading to a reduced concentration of the NPQ-effective pigment zeaxanthin. The findings suggest that altered ER-located fatty acid unsaturation and ensuing inter-organellar compensation impacts on the function of specific thylakoid enzymes, rather than globally affecting thylakoid function.

Association of the Arabidopsis oleoyl Δ12-desaturase FAD2 with pre-cis-Golgi stacks at endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi-exit sites

The unsaturation of phospholipids influences the function of membranes. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the oleoyl Δ12-desaturase FAD2 converts oleic (18:1Δ9 ) to linoleic acid (18:2Δ9,12 ) and influences phospholipid unsaturation in different cellular membranes. Despite its importance, the precise localization of Arabidopsis FAD2 has not been unambiguously described. As FAD2 is thought to modify phospholipid-associated fatty acids at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), from where unsaturates are distributed to other cellular sites, we hypothesized that FAD2 locates to ER subdomains enabling trafficking of lipid intermediates through the secretory pathway. Fluorescent FAD2 fusions used to test this hypothesis were first assessed for functionality by heterologous expression in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), and in planta by Arabidopsis fad2 mutant rescue upon ectopic expression from an intrinsic FAD2 promoter fragment. Light sheet fluorescence, laser scanning confocal or spinning disc microscopy of roots, leaves, or mesophyll protoplasts showed the functional fluorescence-tagged FAD2 variants in flattened donut-shaped structures of ~0.5-1 μm diameter, in a pattern not resembling mere ER association. High-resolution imaging of coexpressed organellar markers showed fluorescence-tagged FAD2 in a ring-shaped pattern surrounding ER-proximal Golgi particles, colocalizing with pre-cis-Golgi markers. This localization required the unusual C-terminal retention signal of FAD2, and deletion or substitutions in this protein region resulted in relaxed distribution and diffuse association with the ER. The distinct association of FAD2 with pre-cis-Golgi stacks in Arabidopsis root and leaf tissue is consistent with a contribution of FAD2 to membrane lipid homeostasis through the secretory pathway, as verified by an increased plasma membrane liquid phase order in the fad2 mutant.