The breakdown of fatty acids, performed by the -oxidation cycle, is crucial for plant germination and sustainability. -Oxidation involves four enzymatic reactions. The final step, in which a two-carbon unit is cleaved from the fatty acid, is performed by a 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase (KAT). The shortened fatty acid may then pass through the cycle again (until reaching acetoacetyl-CoA) or be directed to a different cellular function. Crystal structures of KAT from Arabidopsis thaliana and Helianthus annuus have been solved to 1.5 and 1.8 Å resolution, respectively. Their dimeric structures are very similar and exhibit a typical thiolase-like fold; dimer formation and active site conformation appear in an open, active, reduced state. Using an interdisciplinary approach, we confirmed the potential of plant KATs to be regulated by the redox environment in the peroxisome within a physiological range. In addition, co-immunoprecipitation studies suggest an interaction between KAT and the multifunctional protein that is responsible for the preceding two steps in -oxidation, which would allow a route for substrate channeling. We suggest a model for this complex based on the bacterial system.Fatty acids are fundamental biomolecules that are abundant in all life forms. With their enormous variation in chain length and degree of saturation, they are essential for energy storage, form structural entities in biomembranes, and serve as signaling molecules. Fatty acids are broken down in a cyclic manner, two carbons at a time, to generate a range of products by the process known as -oxidation (1). In higher plants (2) and yeast (3) -oxidation of all forms of fatty acid occurs in the peroxisomes. In plants, -oxidation is essential for a plethora of physiological roles including responses to senescence and starvation, fatty acid turnover, and the regulation of plant lipid composition. Germinating seeds depend on -oxidation for the mobilization and release of energy stored in the seed (4). Arabidopsis thaliana seeds deficient in -oxidation enzymes are unable to germinate without an external sugar source; they have large and unusual peroxisomes and accumulate C16 -C20 fatty acids (5, 6). -Oxidation is also responsible for the synthesis of jasmonic acid (7) and indole-3-acetic acid (auxin) via conversion from indole-3-butyric acid (8), which serve as crucial plant hormones regulating plant development and responses to biotic and abiotic stress. Hydrogen peroxide, produced as a byproduct during -oxidation, is used by catalase to oxidize different toxins (e.g. alcohols) and plays an important role in cellular signaling (9).-Oxidation comprises four reactions. First, the CoA-activated acyl chain is oxidized to 2-trans-enoyl-CoA by an acylCoA oxidase (10), producing H 2 O 2 as a byproduct. The double bond is then reduced by 2-trans-enoyl hydratase forming L-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA followed by oxidation by NAD ϩ -dependent L-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase. Both the hydratase and dehydrogenase activities are performed by a multifunction...