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A Pipeline to Investigate the Structures and Signaling Pathways of Sphingosine 1-Phosphate Receptors
Published on: June 8, 2022
Sphingosine in plants--more riddles from the Sphinx?
M Nurul Islam1, Marie-Pierre Jacquemot2, Sylvie Coursol2
1School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
The New Phytologist
|November 11, 2011
Summary
Plant sphingolipids, crucial for development, show varied desaturation patterns. Sphingosine (d18:1(Δ4)) is ancient and widespread in plants, unlike the more recent d18:1(Δ8) variant found in gymnosperms.
Area of Science:
- Plant biology
- Lipidomics
- Evolutionary biology
Background:
- Sphingolipids regulate plant cellular and developmental processes.
- Previous studies in Arabidopsis thaliana indicated dihydroxy long-chain base (LCB) desaturation at carbon 8 (d18:1(Δ8)).
- The roles of sphingosine (d18:1(Δ4)) and sphingosine-1-phosphate (d18:1(Δ4)-P) remained unclear due to their apparent absence in A. thaliana.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence of d18:1(Δ4) and d18:1(Δ8) across diverse plant species.
- To understand the evolutionary history of LCB desaturation in Viridiplantae.
Main Methods:
- Surveyed sphingolipid composition in 21 plant species from various phylogenetic groups.
- Performed phylogenetic analysis of sphingolipid Δ4-desaturases.
Main Results:
- d18:1(Δ8) is prevalent in gymnosperms.
- d18:1(Δ4) is widespread in nonseed land plants and the Poales order.
- Phylogenetic analysis revealed d18:1(Δ4) as evolutionarily ancient in Viridiplantae.
- Angiosperm sphingolipid Δ4-desaturases form two clades: Eudicots and Poales.
Conclusions:
- d18:1(Δ4) is likely the ancestral LCB desaturation form in Viridiplantae.
- Future research on d18:1(Δ4) and d18:1(Δ4)-P functions should target tractable Viridiplantae species with d18:1(Δ4) LCBs.
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