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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Maricopa, Arizona » U.S. Arid Land Agricultural Research Center » Plant Physiology and Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #259864
Title: Imaging lipid droplets in Arabidopsis mutants

Author
item JAMES, CHRISTOPHER - University Of North Texas
item HORN, PATRICIA - University Of North Texas
item RICHARDSON, CHARLENE - University Of North Texas
item GIDDA, SATINDER - University Of Guelph
item ZHANG, DAIYUAN - University Of North Texas
item MULLEN, ROBERT - University Of Guelph
item Dyer, John
item ANDERSON, RICHARD - University Of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
item CHAPMAN, KENT - University Of North Texas

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/15/2010
Publication Date: 4/10/2010
Citation: James, C.N., Horn, P.J., Richardson, C.C., Gidda, S.K., Zhang, D., Mullen, R.T., Dyer, J.M., Anderson, R.G., Chapman, K.D. 2010. Imaging lipid droplets in Arabidopsis mutants. Annual Meeting of the Southern Section American Society of Plant Biologists, April 10 - 12, 2010, Knoxville, TN.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Confocal fluorescence microscopy was adapted for the imaging of neutral lipids in plant leaves with defects in normal lipid metabolism using two different fluorescent dyes. Disruptions in a gene locus, At4g24160, yielded Arabidopsis thaliana plants with a preponderance of oil bodies in their leaves similar to phenotypes of acyl-CoA oxidase mutants, acx1/acx2. The At4g24160 gene gives rise to two mRNA splice variants and each encode a protein with homology to the human CGI58 protein. Mutations in this gene in humans are associated with neutral lipid storage disorders that are characterized by the accumulation of lipid droplets in non-adipose tissues. The overproduction of lipid droplets in non-seed tissues may represent a metabolic compartment for maximizing the recovery of lipid-soluble biobased resources in vegetative agricultural materials.