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

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

doi:10.1016/j.resmic.2023.104087

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

Res Microbiol. 2023 Sep-Oct;174(7):104087. doi: 10.1016/j.resmic.2023.104087. Epub 2023 Jun 14.

Authors

Sana Akhtar Usmani¹, Mohit Kumar², Khushboo Arya¹, Basharat Ali³, Nitin Bhardwaj⁴, Naseem Akhtar Gaur⁵, Rajendra Prasad³, Ashutosh Singh⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biochemistry, University of Lucknow, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, 226024, India.
² Amity Institute of Integrative Science and Health and Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Gurgaon, Haryana, India; International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi 110067, India.
³ Amity Institute of Integrative Science and Health and Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Gurgaon, Haryana, India.
⁴ Department of Zoology and Environmental Science, Gurukula Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar, Uttarakhand 249404, India.
⁵ International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi 110067, India.
⁶ Department of Biochemistry, University of Lucknow, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, 226024, India. Electronic address: singh_ashutosh@lkouniv.ac.in.

PMID: 37328042
DOI: 10.1016/j.resmic.2023.104087

Abstract

Sphingolipids (SLs) are essential to fungal survival and represent a major class of structural and signaling lipids. Unique SL structures and their biosynthetic enzymes in filamentous fungi make them an ideal drug target. Several studies have contributed towards the functional characterization of specific SL metabolism genes, which have been complemented by advanced lipidomics methods which allow accurate identification and quantification of lipid structures and pathway mapping. These studies have provided a better understanding of SL biosynthesis, degradation and regulation networks in filamentous fungi, which are discussed and elaborated here.

Keywords: Biosynthesis; Degradation; Fungi; Regulation; Sphingolipid.

Publication types

Review