Eukaryotic Galactolipid and Sulfolipid Synthesis.
The eukaryotic galactolipid and sulfolipid pathway differs from its prokaryotic version with regard to the DAG backbone, which is derived from eukaryotic PC and is characterized by a C18 acyl chain in the sn-2 position as well as C16:0 at the
sn-1 position in some cases. The exact route and identity of the transported lipid moiety or moieties from the ER is still unknown, yet several possibilities have been discussed: DAG precursors are transported into the plastid involving TGD1, a permease-like protein of the inner chloroplast envelope. Other possibilities involve transport of PC to the chloroplast, where it is then either dephosphorylated by a nonspecific phospholipase C (nsPLC) to DAG or first hydrolyzed to PA by phospholipase D (PLD

) and then dephosphorylated to DAG by PA phosphatase (PP). Instead of a direct transport, lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), generated by the phospholipase A2 (PLA2), has also been suggested as a possible intermediate for PC transport into the chloroplast, where acylation by the lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase (LPCAT) would revert it to PC. Starting from DAG, the prokaryotic and eukaryotic pathways share the same activities, but they are sometimes encoded by an extra/different set of genes (see text). Note that when a C16:0 acyl chain is present at the
sn-1 position, it is not desaturated.
Abbreviations: DAG, diacylglycerol; FAD, fatty acid desaturase; LPCAT, lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase; nsPLC, nonspecific phospholipase C; PC, phospholipid choline; PLD

, phospholipase D; PA, phosphatidic acid; PP PA phosphatase; PP phosphatidate phosphatase; PLA2, phospholipase A2; TGD1, permease-like protein of inner chloroplast envelope.
For additional details on genes involved in these reactions, please see http://aralip.plantbiology.msu.edu/pathways/eukaryotic_galactolipid_sulfolipid_synthesis