Changes in Stigma-Specific Lipids of Tobacco Plant during Flower Development

Tobacco stigma contained multiacyl glycerides having -hydroxyfatty acids in their molecules. These compounds were not detectedin other organs; leaf, pith, root, petal, ovary, anther andseed. The content of multiacyl glycerides in stigma increaseduntil anthesis and then decreased. Three lipid fractions correspondingto triacylglycerol, diacylglycerol and polar lipid containedsignificant amounts of -hydroxy fatty acids, oleic acid--OHand linoleic acid--OH. The amount of the triacylglycerol fractionwas the largest. Although -hydroxy fatty acids were detectedin the polar lipid fraction, the compounds did not appear inthe fractions corresponding to phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine,phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylglycerol, monogalactosyldiglyceride,digalactosyldiglyceride and sulfoquinovosyldiglyceride. The-hydroxy fatty acids were contained in both surface and cytoplasmiclipids of stigma at all stages of flower development. (Received September 16, 1982; Accepted December 20, 1982)