The reaction catalyzed by squalene synthase (EC.2.5.1.21) that converts two molecules of farnesyl pyrophosphate to squalene represents a crucial branch point of the isoprenoid pathway in diverting carbon flux towards the biosynthesis of sterols. In the present study two soybean squalene synthase genes, GmSQS1 and GmSQS2, were identified in the soybean genome and functionally characterized for t...

The discovery of an acylated steryl glucoside in plant tissue in 1964 (13) raised the number of known forms of sterols in plants to four. These are the free sterols, sterol esters, steryl glycosides, and acylated steryl glycosides. Kiribuchi et al. (12) analyzed the sterol content of soybean and found that sterol ester was present in very small amount and that the sterol was mostly in the form ...

To get some insight into the regulatory mechanisms controlling the sterol branch of the mevalonate pathway, tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv Bright Yellow-2) cell suspensions were treated with squalestatin-1 and terbinafine, two specific inhibitors of squalene synthase (SQS) and squalene epoxidase, respectively. These two enzymes catalyze the first two steps involved in sterol biosynthesis. In hig...

Natural sterols often occur as a heterogeneous mixture of homologs, which had disturbed the progress of steroid research. Development and application of GC methodology overcame this difficulty and enabled us to obtain detailed sterol profiles. Together, fine synthesis of stereo-defined isomers and homologs of steroids having oxygenated side chains allowed us to compare them with natural samples...

MIC end point determination for the most commonly prescribed azole antifungal drug, fluconazole, can be complicated by "trailing" growth of the organism during susceptibility testing by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards approved M27-A broth macrodilution method and its modified broth microdilution format. To address this problem, we previously developed the sterol quantit...

objectives this study was designed to determine the chemical composition, in vitro antioxidant activity, and total phenol content of various extracts of s. chloroleuca. materials and methods dried aerial parts of the plant were crushed, then sequentially extracted with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol. the fractions of s. chloroleuca were subjected to silica gel column chromatography and s...

This study was undertaken to determine the rates of sterol synthesis and uptake in the major organs of the female rat in vivo. At the mid-dark phase of the light cycle, control animals, animals in which hepatic sterol synthesis had been selectively inhibited by chylomicron infusion and animals in which the small intestine and liver had been surgically removed, were administered [(3)H]water, and...

We previously showed that resistant colonies of Candida glabrata inside the azole inhibition zones had respiratory deficiency due to mutations in mitochondrial DNA. Here, we analyzed the mechanisms of azole resistance in petite mutants of C. glabrata obtained by exposure to fluconazole or induced by ethidium bromide. The respiratory deficiency of these mutants was confirmed by oxygraphy and flo...

Experimental results provide evidence that trophic interactions between ciliates and Daphnia are constrained by the comparatively low food quality of ciliates. The dietary sterol content is a crucial factor in determining food quality for Daphnia. Ciliates, however, presumably do not synthesize sterols de novo. We hypothesized that ciliates are nutritionally inadequate because of their lack of ...