Work by the ELIPS team on the front page of the journal Plant and Cell Physiology

The starch grains in cereal albumens are characterised by the presence of lipids, in particular lysophosphatidylcholine (LysoPC), which are strongly bound to polysaccharides. The work of Gayral et al (pp. 139-151) focuses on the spatio-temporal accumulation of starch-bound LysoPC during the development of maize albumens. Using MALDI mass spectrometry (MALDI MSI) imaging and lipid gene expression analysis, they propose a new model for lipid trafficking between the endoplasmic reticulum and amyloplasts.

The cover shows MALDI MSI images of ions assigned to 16:0-LysoPC, 18:1-LysoPC and 18:2-LysoPC (from left to right, respectively), in vertical sections of mature toothed (top images) and horny (bottom images) maize albumens, at 45 days post-pollination.

Images provided by M. Fanuel (BIBS Platform Engineer) and M. Gayral (PhD student in the ELIPS team).