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The ABC Transporter PXA1 and Peroxisomal β-Oxidation Are Vital for Metabolism in Mature Leaves of Arabidopsis during Extended Darkness^[C],[W],[OA]

^a Department of Botany II, University of Cologne, 50931 Koeln, Germany
^b Department for Plant Biochemistry, Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute for Plant Sciences, Georg-August-University, Goettingen, Germany
^c Department of Developmental Biochemistry, Institute for Biochemistry and DFG Research Center for the Molecular Physiology of the Brain, Georg-August-University, Goettingen, Germany

¹ Address correspondence to markus.gierth{at}uni-koeln.de.

Fatty acid β-oxidation is essential for seedling establishment of oilseed plants, but little is known about its role in leaf metabolism of adult plants. Arabidopsis thaliana plants with loss-of-function mutations in the peroxisomal ABC-transporter1 (PXA1) or the core β-oxidation enzyme keto-acyl-thiolase 2 (KAT2) have impaired peroxisomal β-oxidation. pxa1 and kat2 plants developed severe leaf necrosis, bleached rapidly when returned to light, and died after extended dark treatment, whereas the wild type was unaffected. Dark-treated pxa1 plants showed a decrease in photosystem II efficiency early on and accumulation of free fatty acids, mostly -linolenic acid [18:3(n-3)] and pheophorbide a, a phototoxic chlorophyll catabolite causing the rapid bleaching. Isolated wild-type and pxa1 chloroplasts challenged with comparable -linolenic acid concentrations both showed an 80% reduction in photosynthetic electron transport, whereas intact pxa1 plants were more susceptible to the toxic effects of -linolenic acid than the wild type. Furthermore, starch-free mutants with impaired PXA1 function showed the phenotype more quickly, indicating a link between energy metabolism and β-oxidation. We conclude that the accumulation of free polyunsaturated fatty acids causes membrane damage in pxa1 and kat2 plants and propose a model in which fatty acid respiration via peroxisomal β-oxidation plays a major role in dark-treated plants after depletion of starch reserves.

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