Nature of the reaction product of [1-14C]stearoyl-CoA elongation by etiolated leek seeding microsomes.

The elongation of [1-14C]stearoyl-CoA by microsomes from etiolated leek seedlings, in the presence of malonyl-CoA and NADPH, has been studied at different substrate and enzyme concentrations. The HPTLC analysis of the whole reaction mixture, followed by the analysis of the label in the fatty acid methyl esters of long-chain acyl-CoAs, phosphatidylcholine (PC), and neutral lipids, showed that the acyl-CoA fraction contained most of the labeled very-long-chain fatty acids. The very-long-chain fatty acids were rapidly formed and released from the elongase(s) as acyl-CoAs. The label of long-chain acyl-CoAs increased for 20 min and then decreased, whereas it increased in PC. Labeled very-long-chain fatty acids appeared in the neutral lipid + free fatty acid fraction after a 20-min lag.