Nagano M, Takahara K, Fujimoto M, Tsutsumi N, Uchimiya H, Kawai-Yamada M

2-hydroxy fatty acids (2-HFAs) are predominantly present in sphingolipids and have important physicochemical and physiological functions in eukaryotic cells. Recent studies from our group demonstrated that sphingolipid fatty acid 2-hydroxylase (FAH) is required for the function of Arabidopsis Bax inhibitor-1 (AtBI-1), which is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane-localized cell death ...

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suppressor. However, little is known about the function of two Arabidopsis FAH homologs (AtFAH1 and AtFAH2), and it remains unclear whether 2-HFAs participate in cell death regulation. In the present study, we found that both AtFAH1 and AtFAH2 had fatty acid 2-hydroxylase activity, and the interaction with Arabidopsis cytochrome b5 (AtCb5) was needed for the sufficient activity. 2-HFA analysis of AtFAH1 knockdown (AtFAH1-KD) lines and atfah2 mutant showed that AtFAH1 mainly 2-hydroxylated very-long-chain fatty acid (VLCFA), whereas AtFAH2 selectively 2-hydroxylated palmitic acid in Arabidopsis. In addition, 2-HFAs were related to resistance to oxidative stress, and AtFAH1 or 2-hydroxy VLCFA showed particularly strong responses to oxidative stress. Furthermore, AtFAH1 interacted with AtBI-1 via AtCb5 more preferentially than AtFAH2. Our results suggest that AtFAH1 and AtFAH2 are functionally different fatty acid 2-hydroxylases, and that AtFAH1 or 2-hydroxy VLCFA is a key factor in AtBI-1-mediated cell death suppression.

Date: May. 25, 2012

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