Carnitine is associated with fatty acid metabolism in plants

B. Bourdin (1) , Hervé Adenier (1) , Y. Perrin (1)

1 GEC - Génie Enzymatique et Cellulaire

The finding of acylcarnitines alongside free carnitine in Arabidopsis thaliana and other plant species, using tandem mass spectrometry coupled to liquid chromatography shows a link between carnitine and plant fatty acid metabolism. Moreover the occurrence of both mediumand long-chain acylcarnitines suggests that carnitine is connected to diverse fatty acid metabolic pathways in plant tissues. The carnitine and acylcarnitine contents in plant tissues are respectively a hundred and a thousand times lower than in animal tissues, and acylcarnitines represent less than 2% of the total carnitine pool whereas this percentage reaches 30% in animal tissues. These results suggest that carnitine plays a lesser role in lipid metabolism in plants than it does in animals.

Mots clés: Carnitine; Lipid metabolism; Plant development; Arabidopsis thaliana; Mass spectrometry

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

B. Bourdin, Hervé Adenier, Y. Perrin. Carnitine is associated with fatty acid metabolism in plants. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 2007, 45, pp.926-931. ⟨10.1016/j.plaphy.2007.09.009⟩. ⟨hal-00192559⟩