| Abstract: | Breakdown of fat in watermelon seedlings germinated in the darkoccurs in essentially the same way as in the light. Free fattyacids do not accumulate and the composition of the lipid remainsalmost unchanged during its rapid utilization. The low weight of ‘protoplasmic lipid’ remainingin the etiolated cotyledons after the storage fat has disappearedcontains a lower proportion of linolenic acid than that fromgreen cotyledons of a corresponding age. The weight of phosphatide (lipid P) per cotyledon increases both in light- anddark-grown seedlings until 8 days, thereafter declining in thedark but continuing to rise in the light. Phosphatide and glyceridefractions from the same fat resemble each other fairly closelyin fatty acid composition. |
