Non-vesicular and vesicular lipid trafficking involving plastids

In plants, newly synthesized fatty acids are either directly incorporated into glycerolipids in the plastid or exported and assembled into lipids at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). ER-derived glycerolipids serve as building blocks for extraplastidic membranes. Alternatively, they can return to the plastid where their diacylglycerol backbone is incorporated into the glycerolipids of the photosynthetic membranes, the thylakoids. Thylakoid lipids are assembled at the plastid envelope membranes and are transferred to the thylakoids. Under phosphate-limited growth conditions, galactolipids are exported from the outer plastid envelope membranes to extraplastidic membranes. Proteins, such as TRIGALACTOSYLDIACYLGLYCEROLI (TGD1) or VESICLE-INDUCING PROTEIN IN PLASTIDS1 (VIPP1), which are involved in different aspects of plastid lipid trafficking phenomena have recently been identified and mechanistic models that are based on the analysis of these components have begun to emerge.