BIOSYNTHESIS OF FATTY ACIDS ·

BIOSYNTHESIS OF FATTY ACIDS

• Lipids vary considerably in chemical composition and they are synthesized by a variety of routes.
• Cells synthesize Fats by joining Glycerol and Fatty acids.
• The glycerol portion of the fat is derived from Dihydroxyacetone phosphate, an intermediate formed during Glycolysis.
• Fatty acids, which are long-chain hydrocarbons (hydrogen linked to carbon), are built up when two-carbon fragments of Acetyl CoA are successively added to each other.
• As with polysaccharide synthesis, the building units of fats and other lipids are linked via dehydration synthesis reactions that require energy, not always in the form of ATP.
• The most important role of lipids is to serve as structural components of biological membranes, and most membrane lipids are Phospholipids.
• A lipid of a very different structure, Cholesterol, is also found in plasma membranes of Eukaryotic cells.
• Waxes are lipids that are important components of the cell wall of Acid-fast bacteria.
• Other lipids, such as carotenoids, provide the red, orange, and yellow pigments of some microorganisms.
• Some lipids form portions of chlorophyll molecules.
• Lipids also function in energy storage.

Biosynthesis of Fatty acids and Simple lipids