Cardiolipin is an anionic membrane phospholipid. It is present in the plasma membrane of bacteria, whilst, is a marker lipid of mitochondrial membrane in eukaryotes. Along with phosphatidylglycerol, the anionic lipids are important for the biogenesis and function of the mitochondrial membrane. In all eukaryotes, cardiolipin biosynthesis occurs in the inner mitochondrial membrane. In mung bean mitochondria, the phosphatidylglycerolphosphate (PGP) phosphatase activity is much higher than the PGP synthase activity, results in a quick turn over of phosphatidylglycerolphosphate to phosphatidylglycerol. In fact, phosphatidylglycerolphosphate is not detected in mitochondrial membranes of mung beans. It is noteworthy that, in addition to be synthesized in mitochondria, phosphatidylglycerol may also be imported from ER to serve as the cardiolipin precursor pool. PGP catalyzes rate limiting step of cardiolipin biosynthesis.
catalyzes conversion of L-1-phosphatidylglycerol phosphate to L-1-phosphatidyl glycerol
