Phytol derived from chlorophyll hydrolysis in plants is metabolized via phytenal

Abstract

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The tail of chlorophyll: Fates for phytol

“…Gutbrod et al. ( 1 ) now present a strong case for the existence of this degradative pathway in plants. They first established a gas chromatography–MS method capable of detecting phytenal in nitrogen-deprived Arabidopsis thaliana leaves.…”

“…In their study, Gutbrod et al. ( 1 ) develop and use sensitive analytical methods to identify the suspected compound as an intermediate in chlorophyll degradation, establishing a key step in the degradative pathway for the phytyl chain of chlorophyll in plants.…”

“…Gutbrod et al. ( 1 ) use improved analytical methods to detect phytenal, suggesting that phytol can also be degraded in plants. …”

“…Finally, Gutbrod et al. ( 1 ) examined the relative proportions of phytenal and the known derivatives of phytol, finding that phytenal is a minor component of the overall pool, with the majority of the carbon being funneled into tocopherol and fatty acid phytyl ester synthesis. However, the authors also demonstrated that production of phytenal is enhanced when flux through either of these synthetic pathways is blocked by mutations, indicating that the three pathways compete for phytol substrate.…”

“…Previous work had suggested a photooxidative reaction ( 10 ), but that is unlikely to be the only mechanism because Gutbrod et al. ( 1 ) show that phytenal can be produced during extended darkness. Because the degradative pathway for phytol has been described in mammals, orthologous plant enzymes might offer obvious candidates.…”