Oil bodies and lipid synthesis in developing soybean seeds

Abstract The chemical composition of the oil bodies of soybean changed during seed development, proteins and phospholipids decreasing and polar lipids increasing thereby affecting to the density of the organelle (1.08–0.98 g/cm 3 ). As a consequence, the density of the isolation medium was adjusted to make the oil bodies float. The distribution of newly synthesized lipids in the different subcellular fractions showed the important role of the oil bodies in the general scheme of lipid synthesis in the seed. However, experiments using short incubation times indicated the preferential implication of the microsomal fraction in triacylglycerol synthesis. The hypothesis of an integrated structure of triacylglycerol synthesis and accumulation in the seed is discussed.