beta-oxidation of fatty acids by the unspecialized peroxisomes from rice coleoptile

Rice coleoptiles grown under anaerobic conditions contain very low activities of beta-oxidation enzymes, whereas those grown in air contain unspecialized peroxisomes in which activities of the beta-oxidation enzymes have been well demonstrated. The ability of these peroxisomes to activate free fatty acids by an acyl-CoA synthetase (EC 6.2.1.3) is reported here, The synthetase activity quantified as the production of [C-14]palmitoyl-CoA from [1-C-14]palmitic acid amounted to 0.8 nmol/min/mg protein, Overall beta-oxidation activity measured as NADH production was observed, using either palmitoyl-CoA or palmitic acid as substrate. Inhibitors of the mitochondrial respiratory chain did not repress the observed beta-oxidation activity.