Beyond membrane components: uncovering the intriguing world of fungal sphingolipid synthesis and regulation

Usmani, Sana Akhtar; Kumar, Mohit; Arya, Khushboo; Ali, Basharat; Bhardwaj, Nitin; Gaur, Naseem A.; Prasad, Rajendra; Singh, Ashutosh

doi:10.1016/j.resmic.2023.104087

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 127 publications

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“…It has been suggested that perhaps this specific glycosylation in fungi pathogenic to plants may help to protect fungal cells from plant defensin(s). It is not known if a similar effect is in place in fungi pathogenic to humans in protecting against human defensin(s) but it might be so because fungal mutants lacking these inositol-containing sphingolipids are highly susceptible to antimicrobial peptides [34]. As the methods for analyzing sphingolipids are improving, we are now beginning to decipher the complexity of their structure and their biological function (Fig 1).…”

Section: The De Novo Synthesis System Of Sphingolipidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The biological functions of sphingolipids in plant pathogenic fungi

Zhu,

Li,

Bao

et al. 2023

PLoS Pathog

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Sphingolipids are critically significant in a range of biological processes in animals, plants, and fungi. In mammalian cells, they serve as vital components of the plasma membrane (PM) in maintaining its structure, tension, and fluidity. They also play a key role in a wide variety of biological processes, such as intracellular signal transduction, cell polarization, differentiation, and migration. In plants, sphingolipids are important for cell development and for cell response to environmental stresses. In pathogenic fungi, sphingolipids are crucial for the initiation and the development of infection processes afflicting humans. However, our knowledge on the metabolism and function of the sphingolipid metabolic pathway of pathogenic fungi affecting plants is still very limited. In this review, we discuss recent developments on sphingolipid pathways of plant pathogenic fungi, highlighting their uniqueness and similarity with plants and animals. In addition, we discuss recent advances in the research and development of fungal-targeted inhibitors of the sphingolipid pathway, to gain insights on how we can better control the infection process occurring in plants to prevent or/and to treat fungal infections in crops.

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Section: The De Novo Synthesis System Of Sphingolipidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The biological functions of sphingolipids in plant pathogenic fungi

Zhu,

Li,

Bao

et al. 2023

PLoS Pathog

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“…Sphingolipids are ubiquitous and abundant components of eukaryotic plasma membranes and play multiple important roles in signal transduction, intracellular trafficking, apoptosis, cell differentiation, and other processes ( 3 , 4 ). Fungal sphingolipids play a pivotal role in growth, morphogenesis, and virulence and have potential as targets in future antifungal therapies ( 5 , 6 ). Fungi possess unique enzymes involved in the synthesis of fungal sphingolipids, which can produce lipids that are structurally different from their mammalian counterparts ( 5 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most of the information available on fungal sphingolipid metabolism comes from the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae ( 7 , 8 ). Some details of the fungal sphingolipid metabolism of several filamentous fungi, such as Aspergillus , Cryptococcus , and Histoplasma , have also been described ( 6 , 9 – 13 ). Fungal glycosphingolipids are clustered along with sterols in specialized membrane microdomains termed lipid rafts, which play a crucial role in the establishment of fungal cell polarity ( 14 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The fatty acid 2-hydroxylase CsSCS7 is a key hyphal growth factor and potential control target in Colletotrichum siamense

Xi,

Long,

Song

et al. 2024

mBio

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SCS7 is a fatty acid 2-hydroxylase required for the synthesis of inositol phosphorylceramide but is not essential for normal growth in Saccharomyces cerevisiae . Here, we demonstrate that the Colletotrichum siamense SCS7 homolog CsSCS7 plays a key role in hyphal growth. The CsSCS7 deletion mutant showed strong hyphal growth inhibition, small conidia, and marginally reduced sporulation and also resulted in a sharp reduction in the full virulence and increasing the fungicide sensitivity. The three protein domains (a cytochrome b5 domain, a transmembrane domain, and a hydroxylase domain) are important to CsSCS7 protein function in hyphal growth. The fatty acid assay results revealed that the CsSCS7 gene is important for balancing the contents of multiple mid-long- and short-chain fatty acids. Additionally, the retarded growth and virulence of C. siamense Δ CsSCS7 can be recovered partly by the reintroduction of homologous sequences from Magnaporthe oryzae and Fusarium graminearum but not SCS7 of S. cerevisiae . In addition, the spraying of C. siamense with naked CsSCS7 -double-stranded RNA (dsRNAs), which leads to RNAi, increases the inhibition of hyphal growth and slightly decreases disease lesions. Then, we used nano material Mg-Al-layered double hydroxide as carriers to deliver dsRNA, which significantly enhanced the control effect of dsRNA, and the lesion area was obviously reduced. These data indicated that CsSCS7 is an important factor for hyphal growth and affects virulence and may be a potential control target in C. siamense and even in filamentous plant pathogenic fungi. IMPORTANCE CsSCS7, which is homologous to yeast fatty acid 2-hydroxylase SCS7, was confirmed to play a key role in the hyphal growth of Colletotrichum siamense and affect its virulence. The CsSCS7 gene is involved in the synthesis and metabolism of fatty acids. Homologs from the filamentous fungi Magnaporthe oryzae and Fusarium graminearum can recover the retarded growth and virulence of C. siamense ΔCsSCS7. The spraying of double-stranded RNAs targeting CsSCS7 can inhibit hyphal growth and reduce the disease lesion area to some extent. After using nano material Mg-Al layered double hydroxide as carrier, the inhibition rates were significantly increased. We demonstrated that CsSCS7 is an important factor for hyphal growth and affects virulence and may be a potential control target in C. siamense and even in filamentous plant pathogenic fungi.

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