We tested the hypothesis that peroxisomal citrate synthase (CSY) is required for carbon transfer from peroxisomes to mitochondria during respiration of triacylglycerol in Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings. Twogenes encoding peroxisomal CSYare expressed in Arabidopsis seedlings, and seeds from plants with both CSY genes disrupted were dormant and did not metabolize triacylglycerol. Germination was achieved by removing the seed coat and supplying sucrose, but the seedlings still did not use triacylglycerol. The mutant seedlings were resistant to 2,4-dichlorophenoxybutyric acid, indicating a block in peroxisomal b-oxidation, and were unable to develop further after transfer to soil. The mutant phenotype was complemented with acDNAencodingCSYwith either its native peroxisomal targeting sequence (PTS2) or a heterologous PTS1sequence from pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) malate synthase. These results suggest that peroxisomal CSY in Arabidopsis is not only a key enzyme of the glyoxylate cycle but also catalyzes an essential step in the respiration of fatty acids. We conclude that citrate is exported from the peroxisome during fatty acid respiration, whereas in yeast, acetylcarnitine is exported.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	arabidopsis thaliana, peroxisomal, fatty acid respiration
Research Division:	Biological Sciences
Research Group:	Plant Biology
Research Field:	Plant Physiology
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences
Author:	Smith, SM (Professor Steven Smith)
ID Code:	101518
Year Published:	2005
Web of Science® Times Cited:	119
Deposited By:	Plant Science
Deposited On:	2015-06-25
Last Modified:	2017-06-06
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