Sterol Biosynthesis in Sub-Cellular Particles of Higher Plants

Mevalonic acid-2-(14)C was administered to cut stems of bean seedlings (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) for time intervals varying from 20 min to 24 hr. The plants were homogenized in a pH 7.8 tris-sucrose buffer and the homogenates separated into chloroplast, mitochondrial, microsomal, and supernatant fractions by means of differential centrifugation. The distribution of radioactivity into non-saponifiable material in each of the fractions was then determined. After short incubation periods labeled squalene was localized in the supernatant fraction. Labeled sterol was limited at all incubation periods to the microsomal and supernatant fractions. The data presented clearly implicate the microsomal and supernatant fractions in sterol biosynthesis in higher plants.