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Isolation of Cellular Lipid Droplets: Two Purification Techniques Starting from Yeast Cells and Human Placentas
Published on: April 1, 2014
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Ties between Stress and Lipid Droplets Pre-date Seeds
Jan de Vries1, Till Ischebeck2
1University of Goettingen, Institute for Microbiology and Genetics, Department of Applied Bioinformatics, Goldschmidtstrasse 1, 37077 Goettingen, Germany; University of Goettingen, Goettingen Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), 37077 Goettingen, Germany; University of Goettingen, Campus Institute Data Science (CIDAS), Goldschmidtstrasse 1, 37077 Goettingen, Germany.
Trends in Plant Science
|September 14, 2020
Summary
Lipid droplets (LDs) are crucial for seed endurance and stress resilience in plants. Their evolutionary origin as a drought resistance mechanism was later adapted by seed plants for seed development.
Area of Science:
- Plant biology
- Evolutionary biology
- Cell biology
Background:
- Seeds are a critical evolutionary innovation for land plants, addressing dispersal and stress challenges.
- Lipid droplets (LDs) are vital for seed endurance, serving as nutrient storage and increasing during stress.
- The proteins associated with LDs in seed plants (spermatophytes) show ancient evolutionary origins.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose an evolutionary scenario for the origin and function of lipid droplets (LDs) in plants.
- To investigate the role of LDs in drought and desiccation resilience.
- To understand the co-option of the LD protein framework by seed plants.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of LDs and associated proteins across plant lineages.
- Investigating the role of LDs in stress responses, particularly desiccation.
- Phylogenetic analysis of proteins involved in LD formation and function.
Main Results:
- Lipid droplets (LDs) likely originated as a general mechanism for drought and desiccation resilience in ancestral plants.
- The protein machinery for LDs, established early in plant evolution, was subsequently utilized by spermatophytes for seed-specific functions.
- LD abundance increases under stress conditions, supporting their role in resilience.
Conclusions:
- The evolution of lipid droplets provided a foundational mechanism for stress tolerance in plants.
- Seed plants (spermatophytes) adapted this pre-existing LD system for the specialized demands of seed development and dispersal.
- Understanding LD evolution offers insights into plant adaptation and the success of seed-bearing plants.
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