Long-chain acyl-coenzyme A synthetase activity of spinach chloroplasts is concentrated in the envelope

Purified chloroplasts were disrupted and then fractionated by discontinuous sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation. Envelopes contained long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase at a specific activity 80 times the activity in the lamellae or the stroma. Acetyl-CoA synthetase was concentrated in the stroma, and chlorophyll was confined to the lamellae membranes. Phospholipase D was not detected in any fraction.