Glyceroglycolipids of Photosynthetic Organisms: Their Biosynthesis and Evolutionary Origin

Abstract

Glycolipids, particularly glyceroglycolipids, are major membrane lipids in photosynthetic organisms. In higher plant cells, they are accumulated in chloroplasts, the site of photosynthesis. Glycolipids account for 90% of the chloroplast membrane lipid. In spite of their abundance in chloroplast, little was known about the biosynthesis and function of these glycolipids. In the past three years, significant progress has been made in this important field. Here we describe the biosynthetic machinery for glyceroglycolipids in photosynthetic organisms and the evolutionary origin of the glycolipids.