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How does the Golgi apparatus add fatty acids to proteins or lipids?

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Diagram of the Golgi apparatus showing its stacked, curved membranes with labeled parts including cisternae, cis face, trans face, lumen, and various vesicles involved in cellular transport and secretion. — Golgi apparatus A membrane-bound organelle of eukaryotic cells, the Golgi apparatus is made up of a series of flattened, stacked pouches called cisternae that function as a series of compartments that progressively refine and direct cellular products to their proper destinations. .

The Golgi apparatus modifies proteins and lipids as they progress from the cis face to the trans face of the organelle. While the specific enzymatic mechanisms for all modifications are complex and compartmentalized, the addition of fatty acids is one of the various chemical modifications that can occur as these molecules move through the Golgi cisternae to become functional.1

These modifications are driven by specific enzymes located within the different compartments of the Golgi apparatus. As proteins and lipids travel through the stack, they undergo processing—such as the addition of fatty acids, phosphate groups, or the alteration of carbohydrate chains—to ensure they are properly matured for their final destinations. Once these modifications are complete, the molecules are sorted in the trans Golgi network and packaged into vesicles for delivery to specific intracellular or extracellular locations.1