Lipid Biosynthesis in Leaf and Fruit of Olive

A comparative study of fatty acids from total lipids, and ofthe distribution of the main lipid groups in fruit and leaf,has been accomplished in olive during the development of thefruit. Palmitic, oleic, and especially -linolenic acids arethe main fatty acids of the leaf throughout the cycle. In youngfruits this composition is similar to that of the leaf,; butthe quantity of oleic acid increases and the saturated and polyunsaturatedacids decrease with the time. The incorporation of 1-¹⁴C]acetateinto neutral lipids of fruit increases with ripening, whereasthe synthesis of glycolipids decreases. In the leaf an increaseoflabelled glycolipids in the stage of fruit maturity can beobserved, whereas the synthesis of phospholipids reaches maximain the first and last stages studied. All these events suggestthat there is little correlation between leaf and fruit in lipidbiosynthesis.