Fatty acid composition of phosphatidylglycerols in relation to chilling sensitivity of woody plants.
Tasaka Y., Nishida I., Higashi S., Beppu T., Murata N.
Author Affiliation: Department of Regulation Biology, National Institute for Basic Biology, Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444, Japan.
Plant and Cell Physiology 31 : 545-550
Abstract : The fatty acid composition of phosphatidylglycerol (PG) was examined in leaves of 9 species of temperate-zone evergreens (Camellia sasanqua, tea, Pinus densiflora, Cedrus deodara, Camellia japonica var. japonica, Ilex integra, Myrica rubra, Cinnamomum camphora and Euonymus japonicus), 7 species of tropical evergreens (Averrhoa carambola, guavas, passion fruits, mangoes, pawpaws, poinsettias and coffee) and 7 species of temperate-zone deciduous plants (Celtis sinensis, Acer palmatum, Acer pycnanthum, Zelkova serrata, Ginkgo biloba, apricots and Robinia pseudoacacia). The sum of the levels of palmitate, stearate and trans-3-hexadecenoate, as a percentage of the total fatty acids in PG, ranged from 55 to 62% in the temperate-zone evergreens, from 67 to 75% in the tropical evergreens, and from 58 to 72% in the temperate-zone deciduous plants. The sum of the saturated and trans-monounsaturated molecular species, relative to the total fatty acids in PG, ranged from 10 to 24% in temperate zone evergreens and from 34 to 56% tropical evergreens and is correlated with the sensitivity of the leaves of evergreens to chilling. This is consistent with the hypothesis proposed to explain the sensitivity to chilling of leaves of herbaceous plants.