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1. Dynamic relationships among pathways producing hydrocarbons and fatty acids of maize silk cuticular waxes

   https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiae150  

   Chen, Keting; Alexander, Liza E; Mahgoub, Umnia; Okazaki, Yozo; Higashi, Yasuhiro; Perera, Ann M; Showman, Lucas J; Loneman, Derek; Dennison, Tesia S; Lopez, Miriam; et al (March 2024, Plant Physiology)

   Abstract The hydrophobic cuticle is the first line of defense between aerial portions of plants and the external environment. On maize (Zea mays L.) silks, the cuticular cutin matrix is infused with cuticular waxes, consisting of a homologous series of very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs), aldehydes, and hydrocarbons. Together with VLC fatty-acyl-CoAs (VLCFA-CoAs), these metabolites serve as precursors, intermediates, and end-products of the cuticular wax biosynthetic pathway. To deconvolute the potentially confounding impacts of the change in silk microenvironment and silk development on this pathway, we profiled cuticular waxes on the silks of the inbreds B73 and Mo17, and their reciprocal hybrids. Multivariate interrogation of these metabolite abundance data demonstrates that VLCFA-CoAs and total free VLCFAs are positively correlated with the cuticular wax metabolome, and this metabolome is primarily affected by changes in the silk microenvironment and plant genotype. Moreover, the genotype effect on the pathway explains the increased accumulation of cuticular hydrocarbons with a concomitant reduction in cuticular VLCFA accumulation on B73 silks, suggesting that the conversion of VLCFA-CoAs to hydrocarbons is more effective in B73 than Mo17. Statistical modeling of the ratios between cuticular hydrocarbons and cuticular VLCFAs reveals a significant role of precursor chain length in determining this ratio. This study establishes the complexity of the product–precursor relationships within the silk cuticular wax-producing network by dissecting both the impact of genotype and the allocation of VLCFA-CoA precursors to different biological processes and demonstrates that longer chain VLCFA-CoAs are preferentially utilized for hydrocarbon biosynthesis. 

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2. Disrupting Fluorescence by Mutagenesis in a Green Fluorescent Fatty Acid Binding Protein from a Marine Eel

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s10930-020-09883-3  

   Krivoshik, Sara Rose; Guarnaccia, Andrew; Fried, Daniel B; Gruber, David F; Gaffney, Jean P. (February 2020, The Protein journal)

   Biofluorescence has been found to be an increasingly widespread phenomenon in the ocean. The reclusive Caribbean chlopsid eel, Kaupichthys hyoproroides displays bright green fluorescence in its native marine environment. We have previously shown the fluorescence to be attributed to a fluorescent fatty acid-binding protein, Chlopsid FP, part of a larger family of fluorescent fatty acid-binding proteins, including the homologous UnaG. All require the addition of exogenous bilirubin for fluorescence. Here, we report the generation of a series of point mutants, and deletions that result in the quenching of fluorescence in Chlopsid FP. In addition, we report the binding constants of bilirubin to Chlopsid FP and mutants, measured by fluorescence titration. This study provides key insights into the potential mechanism of fluorescence in this class of fluorescent fatty acid-binding proteins. 

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3. Persistent fatty acid catabolism during plant oil synthesis

   Koley, S; Jyoti, P; Lingwan, M; Wei, M; Xu, C; Chu, K; Williams, R; Koo, A; Thelen, J; Xu, D; et al (March 2025, Cell reports)
4. Persistent fatty acid catabolism during plant oil synthesis

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2025.115492  

   Koley, Somnath; Jyoti, Poonam; Lingwan, Maneesh; Wei, Michael; Xu, Chunhui; Chu, Kevin L; Williams, Russell B; Koo, Abraham J; Thelen, Jay J; Xu, Dong; et al (April 2025, Cell Reports)

   Koley et al. indicate that fatty acid oxidation occurs concomitantly with fatty acid biosynthesis in multiple plant tissues, including seeds that are thought to stably house storage reserves. This study suggests that some lipid breakdown and fatty acid oxidation is the rule and not the exception in plant metabolism. 

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5. Systematic mapping of genetic interactions for de novo fatty acid synthesis identifies C12orf49 as a regulator of lipid metabolism

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-020-0211-z  

   Aregger, Michael; Lawson, Keith A.; Billmann, Maximillian; Costanzo, Michael; Tong, Amy H.; Chan, Katherine; Rahman, Mahfuzur; Brown, Kevin R.; Ross, Catherine; Usaj, Matej; et al (June 2020, Nature Metabolism)