Metabolism of 1-acyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine in castor oil biosynthesis

Castor Oil: Properties, Uses, and Optimization of Processing Parameters in Commercial Production

Castor oil, produced from castor beans, has long been considered to be of important commercial value primarily for the manufacturing of soaps, lubricants, and coatings, among others. Global castor oil production is concentrated primarily in a small geographic region of Gujarat in Western India. This region is favorable due to its labor-intensive cultivation method and subtropical climate conditions. Entrepreneurs and castor processors in the United States and South America also cultivate castor beans but are faced with the challenge of achieving high castor oil production efficiency, as well as obtaining the desired oil quality. In this manuscript, we provide a detailed analysis of novel processing methods involved in castor oil production. We discuss novel processing methods by explaining specific processing parameters involved in castor oil production.

A high-throughput screen for genes from castor that boost hydroxy fatty acid accumulation in seed oils of transgenic Arabidopsis

It is desirable to produce high homogeneity of novel fatty acids in oilseeds through genetic engineering to meet the increasing demands of the oleo-chemical industry. However, expression of key enzymes for biosynthesis of industrial fatty acids usually results in low levels of desired fatty acids in transgenic oilseeds. The abundance of derivatized fatty acids in their natural species suggests that additional genes are needed for high production in transgenic plants. We used the model oilseed plant Arabidopsis thaliana expressing a castor fatty acid hydroxylase (FAH12) to identify genes that can boost hydroxy fatty acid accumulation in transgenic seeds. Here we describe a high-throughput approach that, in principle, can allow testing of the entire transcriptome of developing castor seed endosperm by shotgun transforming a full-length cDNA library into an FAH12-expressing Arabidopsis line. The resulting transgenic seeds were screened by high-throughput gas chromatography. We obtained several lines transformed with castor cDNAs that contained increased amounts of hydroxy fatty acids in transgenic Arabidopsis. These cDNAs were then isolated by PCR and retransformed into the FAH12-expressing line, thus confirming their beneficial contributions to hydroxy fatty acid accumulation in transgenic Arabidopsis seeds. Although we describe an approach that is targeted to oilseed engineering, the methods we developed can be applied in many areas of plant biotechnology and functional genomic research.

Polyamines are essential for the synthesis of 2-ricinoleoyl phosphatidic acid in developing seeds of castor

The major fatty acid component of castor (Ricinus communis L.) oil is ricinoleic acid (12-hydroxy-cis-9-octadecenoic acid), and unsaturated hydroxy acid accounts for >85% of the total fatty acids in triacylglycerol (TAG). TAG had a higher ricinoleate content at position 2 than at positions 1 and 3. Although lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.51), which catalyzes acylation of LPA at position 2, was expected to utilize ricinoleoyl-CoA preferentially over other fatty acyl-CoAs, no activity was found for ricinoleoyl-CoA in vitro at concentrations at which other unsaturated acyl-CoAs were incorporated rapidly. However, activity for ricinoleoyl-CoA appeared with addition of polyamines (putrescine, spermidine, and spermine), while polyamines decreased the rates of incorporation of other acyl-CoAs into position 2. The order of effect of polyamines on LPA acyltransferase activity was spermine > spermidine >> putrescine. At concentrations of spermine and spermidine of >0.1 mM, ricinoleoyl-CoA served as an effective substrate for LPA acyltransferase reaction. The concentrations of spermine and spermidine in the developing seeds were estimated at approximately 0.09 and approximately 0.63 mM, respectively. These stimulatory effects for incorporation of ricinoleate were specific to polyamines, but basic amino acids were ineffective as cations. In contrast, in microsomes from safflower seeds that do not contain ricinoleic acid, spermine and spermidine stimulated the LPA acyltransferase reaction for all acyl-CoAs tested, including ricinoleoyl-CoA. Although the fatty acid composition of TAG depends on both acyl-CoA composition in the cell and substrate specificity of acyltransferases, castor bean polyamines are crucial for incorporation of ricinoleate into position 2 of LPA. Polyamines are essential for synthesis of 2-ricinoleoyl phosphatidic acid in developing castor seeds.

Regulation of diacylglycerol acyltransferase in developing seeds of castor

We have previously reported the cloning of castor diacylglycerol acyltransferase (RcDGAT) based on its homology to other plant type 1 diacylglycerol acyltransferases (DGATs). To elucidate the physiological role of the RcDGAT, we have investigated the regulation of RcDGAT expression in developing seeds of castor. The RcDGAT transcript appeared at 12 d after pollination (DAP), reached the highest level at 26 DAP, and declined rapidly after that. However, the RcDGAT protein started to accumulate at 26 DAP, reached its peak at 47 DAP, then remained at this high level until 54 DAP. The significant difference between the expression of mRNA and protein indicates that gene expression of RcDGAT in maturing castor seeds is controlled at the posttranscriptional level. We found that DGAT activity measured in microsomal membranes isolated from seed at different stages of development was parallel to RcDGAT protein level, suggesting DGAT activity is mainly a function of the level of RcDGAT protein. We monitored the triacylglycerol (TG) composition and content during seed development. Compared with the overall rate of TG accumulation, DGAT activity appeared coincidently with the onset of lipid accumulation at 26 DAP; the highest DGAT activity occurred during the rapid phase of lipid accumulation at 40 DAP; and a decline in DGAT activity coincided with a decline in the accumulation rate of TG after 40 DAP. The ricinoleate-containing TG content was very low (only about 7%) in oil extracted from seeds before 19 DAP; however, it increased up to about 77% of the oil at 26 DAP. The relative amount of triricinolein in oil at 26 DAP was 53 times higher than that at 19 DAP, and it was about 76% of the amount present in oil from mature castor seeds. The close correlation between profiles of RcDGAT activity and oil accumulation confirms the role of RcDGAT in castor oil biosynthesis.

Molecular species of PC and PE formed during castor oil biosynthesis

As part of a program to elucidate castor oil biosynthesis, we have identified 36 molecular species of PC and 35 molecular species of PE isolated from castor microsomes after incubations with [14C]-labeled FA. The six [14C]FA studied were ricinoleate, stearate, oleate, linoleate, linolenate, and palmitate, which were the only FA identified in castor microsomal incubations. The incorporation of each of the six FA into PC was better than that into PE. The [14C]FA were incorporated almost exclusively into the sn-2 position of both PC and PE. The incorporation of [14C]stearate and [14C]palmitate into 2-acyl-PC was slower compared to the other four [14C]FA. The incorporation does not show any selectivity for the various lysoPC molecular species. The level of incorporation of [14C]FA in PC was in the order of: oleate > linolenate > palmitate > linoleate > stearate > ricinoleate, and in PE: linoleate > linolenate > oleate > palmitate > stearate > ricinoleate. In general, at the sn-1 position of both PC and PE, linoleate was the most abundant FA, palmitate was the next, and oleate, linolenate, stearate, and ricinoleate were minor FA. The activities of oleoyl-12-hydroxylase, oleoyl-12-desaturase seem unaffected by the FA at the sn-1 position of 2-oleoyl-PC. The FA in the sn-1 position of PC does not significantly affect the activity of phospholipase A2, whereas ricinoleate is preferentially removed from the sn-2 position of PC. The results show that (i) [14C]oleate is most actively incorporated to form 2-oleoyl-PC, the immediate substrate of oleoyl-12-hydroxylase; (ii) 2-ricinoleoyl-PC is formed mostly by the hydroxylation of 2-oleoyl-PC, not from the incorporation of ricinoleate into 2-ricinoleoyl-PC; and (iii) 2-oleoyl-PE is less actively formed than 2-oleoyl-PC.

Down-regulation by elicitors of phosphatidylcholine-hydrolyzing phospholipase C and up-regulation of phospholipase A in plant cells

Phosphatidylcholine, labeled by two fluorescent fatty acids, was fed to cultured plant cells (Petrosilenum crispum, L.; VBI-0, Nicotiana benthiana, L.) and fluorescent diacylglycerol (DAG) was the major metabolite. When a glycoprotein elicitor, derived from Phytophthora sojae, was applied to the parsley cells and the small protein cryptogein from Phytophthora cryptogea was applied to the tobacco cells, these signal substances strongly and rapidly decreased the pool of fluorescent diacylglycerol and weakly increased the pool of free fluorescent fatty acid and of fluorescent lysophosphatidylcholine. The cells responded in a very similar way to the application of mastoparan, a wasp venom peptide. As phosphatidic acid was only a very minor fluorescent metabolite DAG is hypothesized to arise by the action of a phosphatidylcholine-hydrolyzing phospholipase C which was down-regulated by elicitors. Up-regulation of a phospholipase A by elicitors is also suggested by these results. This is the first evidence for phosphatidylcholine-hydrolyzing phospholipase C in plant signal transduction.

Separation of the molecular species of intact phosphatidylethanolamines and their N-monomethyl and N,N-dimethyl derivatives by high-performance liquid chromatography on a C8 column

We have developed a gradient reversed-phase C8 high-performance liquid chromatography method for the separation of molecular species of phosphatidylethanolamines (PEs) and their N-monomethyl and N,N-dimethyl derivatives. This method uses a 40-min linear gradient of 88-100% methanol, containing ammonium hydroxide as silanol suppressing agent, and is suitable for metabolic studies using both UV detection at 205 nm and radioactivity flow detection. The elution order of a given PE is inversely related to the polarity of its fatty acid constituents. Lipid classes studied here containing the same fatty acyl chains elute in the order: PE-N,N-dimethyl<PE<PE-N-monomethyl<phosphatidylcholine, indicating that elution order is not simply a function of the numbers of methyl groups on the nitrogen atom of PE.