Abstract
Cyanobacterial thylakoid membranes contained the four glycerolipids, monogalactosyldiacylglycerol, digalactocyldiacylglycerol, sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol. In addition to these glycerolipids we found that filamentous cyanobacteria (such as Anabaena sp. PCC7120, A. variabilis and Spirulina )contain a fifth glycerolipid. Structural analysis by NMR revealed that this lipid is three galactose residues linked to the glycerol back bone with methylation at the third galactose, diacyl -O-(O-methyl-α-Galactopyranosyl-(1,6)-α-Galactopyranosyl-(1,6)-β-galactopyranosyl)-glycerol. We will report to identify the genes for the enzymes involved in this glycolipid synthesis.
