Mechanisms for Packaging Storage Lipids in Plant Cells

Seminar Details

Host: Dr. Xuewu Sui

Time: 4:00pm-5:00pm

Location: BICH Rm 108

Seminar Abstract

Lipids are stored in plant cells in organelles called lipid droplets (LDs) that are also know as oil
bodies, oleosomes or lipid bodies. These LDs are unique hydrophobic compartments that are covered
by a single monolayer of phospholipid effectively emulsifying the storage lipids in an aqueous
cytoplasm. LDs are particularly abundant in seeds and oleaginous fruits, but are present in varying
amounts in essentially all plant cell types. While the major structural proteins of seed LDs—the
oleosins– have been known for many years, oleosin genes are not expressed in many cell types that
contain LDs, suggesting that a comprehensive understanding of LD formation and function requires
a look beyond these structural proteins. Given the importance of plant storage lipids both for human
nutrition, and more recently, for bioenergy applications, an understanding of how these neutral lipids
are compartmentalized at the subcellular level may offer new ideas about how to enhance the
caloric/energy density of plant tissues. Over the past decade, our group has identified several parts of
the protein machinery that facilitate the biogenesis of LDs in plant cells, some of which are
conserved in other eukaryotes. For my seminar, I will describe the various approaches we have taken
to develop our current understanding of the cellular mechanisms for packaging lipids into
cytoplasmic LDs in plant cells.