[Kazue Kanehara] Membrane lipid polyunsaturation mediated by FATTY ACID DESATURASE 2 (FAD2) is involved in endoplasmic reticulum stress tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is caused by a variety of factors including abiotic stresses and biotic stresses, which lead to a disturbance of cellular homeostasis for protein biogenesis and glycerolipid biosynthesis in the ER. The current study provides conceptual advances in understanding the circumvention mechanism of ER stress by the desaturation of ER membrane lipid. The relationship between the polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism and stress adaptation is clarified by investigating biological functions of FATTY ACID DESATURASE 2 (FAD2) which converts oleic acid (18:1) to linoleic acid (18:2) in the acyl groups of ER-localized phospholipids. Our results indicate the importance of hydrophobic tails in the lipid bilayer, which advances the understanding of membrane lipid function in the stress response in plants and beyond. (Nguyen et al, 2019, The Plant Journal. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tpj.14338)