Lipid composition of thylakoid membranes from leaves and regreened spathes of Zantedeschia aethiopica

Abstract The glycerolipid and fatty acid composition of thylakoid membranes from two photosynthetic organs, the leaf and regreened spathe, of Zantedeschia aethiopica was studied. In regreened spathes, there was a decrease in the monogalactosyl- and digalactosyldiacylglycerols, and an increase in the contents of the sulpholipid, sulphoquinovosyldiacylglycerol and in the phospholipids phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine, when compared with those isolated from the leaf. The major difference detected in fatty acid composition of both photosynthetic structures was the absence of the unusual fatty acid, Δ 3 - trans -hexadecenoic, from phosphatidylglycerol in regreened spathe thylakoid membranes. In spite of these differences, chloroplasts from regreened spathes exhibited a typical organization, with grana and stromal regions. The results obtained suggest, that in Z. aethiopica , there is no evident correlation between the presence of Δ 3 - trans -hexadecenoic acid in thylakoid membranes and thylakoid-stacking. The absence of this fatty acid in the regreened spathe is discussed in terms of chloroplast function.