Requirement for 3‐ketoacyl‐CoA thiolase‐2 in peroxisome development, fatty acid β‐oxidation and breakdown of triacylglycerol in lipid bodies of Arabidopsis seedlings

3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase (KAT) (EC: 2.3.1.16) catalyses a key step in fatty acid beta-oxidation. Expression of the Arabidopsis thaliana KAT gene on chromosome 2 (KAT2), which encodes a peroxisomal thiolase, is activated in early seedling growth. We identified a T-DNA insertion in this gene which abolishes its expression and eliminates most of the thiolase activity in seedlings. In the homozygous kat2 mutant, seedling growth is dependent upon...