The breakdown or synthesis of * fatty acids. In plants fatty acids can be broken down to yield carbon dioxide, water, and energy but in many lipid-metabolizing tissues, especially germinating oil-rich seeds, fatty acids are metabolized to sugars. The major route for fatty acid breakdown is the * β-oxidation cycle, which degrades fatty acids to acetyl CoA. The acetyl CoA can then either undergo further oxidation or can be converted into sugar via the * glyoxylate cycle. Fatty acid synthesis is a membrane-associated process. The enzymes responsible for fatty acid synthesis aggregate in synthetase complexes, which are found associated with the various membrane-bound organelles of the cell. Three different types of synthetase complex have been identified, each with a different specificity. See also malonyl ACP. |
