1. Plastid and mitochondrial preparations were obtained by density-gradient centrifugation of homogenates made by gentle disintergration of avocado fruit mesocarp and cauliflower bud tissue. 2. The mitochondrial preparations had respiratory activity but did not incorporate [1-14C]acetate into fatty acids. 3. The plastid preparations incorporated [1--14C]acetate into the range of fatty acids found in the parent tissue. No fatty acid synthetase activity could be detected in the 12000g supernatant of these homogenates. 4. Homogenates produced by rupture of the tissue in an Ato-Mix blender and plastid preparations disintegrated by ultrasonic treatment both had fatty acid synthetase activity which did not sediment at 105000g and which formed mainly [14-C]stearate from [2-14C]malonyl-CoA. 5. It is concluded that the plastids are the principal site of fatty acid biosynthesis in the tissues studied.

1. The range of fatty acids formed by preparations of ultrasonically ruptured avocado mesocarp plastids was dependent on the substrate. Whereas [1-14C]palmitate and [14C]oleate were the major products obtained from [-14C]acetate and [1-14C]acetyl-CoA, the principal product from [2-14C]malonyl-CoA was [14-C]stearate. 2. Ultracentrifugation of the ruptured plastids at 105000g gave a supernatant that formed mainly stearate from [2-14C]malonyl-CoA and to a lesser extent from [1-14C]acetate. The incorporation of [1-14C]acetate into stearate by this fraction was inhibited by avidin. 3. The 105000g precipitate of the disrupted plastids incorporated [1-14C]acetate into a mixture of fatty acids that contained largely [14C]plamitate and [14C]oleate. The formation of [14C]palmitate and [14C]oleate by disrupted plastids was unaffected by avidin. 4. The soluble fatty acid synthetase was precipitated from the 105000g supernatant in the 35-65%-saturated-(NH4)2SO4 fraction and showed an absolute requirement for acyl-carrier protein. 5. Both fractions synthesized fatty acids de novo.

blood glycerides was ten times higher in livers from fed rats (0.69% of the dose/min) compared with livers from rats starved for 24h (0.065%). Production of "4C-labelled ketone bodies in the steady state was presumably a result of lipolysis of liver 14C-labelled glycerides. It was higher in the livers of starved rats (0.0278±0.008% of the dose/min) compared with those of fed rats (0.0013± 0.0002% of the dose/min). Production of total ketone bodies was also higher in livers from starved rats. Addition of glucagon to perfused livers from fed rats depressed the rate of formation of 14C-labelled very low density lipoproteins and increased the rate of formation of 14C-labelled ketone bodies; it was without effect on livers from starved rats. Addition of insulin to livers from starved rats resulted in an increased output of 14C-labelled very low density lipoproteins and a reduction in formation of 14C-labelled ketone bodies.The support of the Wellcome Trust is gratefully acknowledged.

No abstract

Cycloplasmic preparations from brown and white adipose tissues were assayed for three lipogenic enzymes throughout a programme of starvation followed by refeeding on either a normal or a white-bread diet. In the brown adipose tissue of rats fed on a white-bread diet the three enzymes were elevated to levels significantly higher than those in white adipose tissue.