Current lipid-altering agents that lower low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) primarily through increased hepatic LDL receptor activity include statins, bile acid sequestrants/resins and cholesterol absorption inhibitors such as ezetimibe, plant stanols/sterols, polyphenols, as well as nutraceuticals such as oat bran, psyllium and soy proteins; those currently in development include newe...

Plant lipid transfer proteins are a large family that can be found in all land plants. They have hydrophobic cavity allows them to harbor lipids and facilitates their traffic between membranes. However, humans, this plant protein is responsible for the main food allergies Mediterranean area. Nevertheless, not only itself but also its ligand relevant allergic sensitization. The aim of present wo...

Lipid transport between intracellular organelles is mediated by vesicular and nonvesicular transport mechanisms and is critical for maintaining the identities of different cellular membranes. Nonvesicular lipid transport between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the Golgi complex has been proposed to affect the lipid composition of the Golgi membranes. Here, we show that the integral ER-membra...

In plants and animals, nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeats (NLR)-containing proteins play pivotal roles in innate immunity. Despite their similar biological functions and protein architecture, comparative genome-wide analyses of NLRs and genes encoding NLR-like proteins suggest that plant and animal NLRs have independently arisen in evolution. Furthermore, the demonstration of in...

There is a trend among allergen extract companies to diminish the number of individual extracts available for commercial use. This is driven in part by economic considerations and in part by constraints imposed by the US Food and Drug Administration. As much as 2/3 of previously manufactured extracts are or will no longer be available. In this setting, knowledge of pollen allergen interrelation...

Lipid A, the hydrophobic anchor of lipopolysaccharide, is an essential component in the outer membrane of most Gram-negative bacteria. Food-borne pathogen Cronobacter sakazakii synthesizes two lipid A species, differing by the length of the secondary acyl chain. In this work, we identified three genes ESA02293, ESA02951 and ESA01386 encoding for the late acyltransferases of lipid A biosynthesi...

Agrobacterium tumefaciens causes tumour formation in plants. Plant signals induce in the bacteria the expression of a range of virulence (Vir) proteins and the formation of a type IV secretion system (T4SS). On attachment to plant cells, a transfer DNA (T-DNA) and Vir proteins are imported into the host cells through the bacterial T4SS. Through interaction with a number of host proteins, the Vi...

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small defense proteins present in various organisms. Major groups of AMPs include beta-barrelin, hevein, knottin, lipid transfer protein (LTP), thionin, defensin, snakin, and cyclotide. Most plant AMPs involve host plant resistance to pathogens such as fungi, viruses, and bacteria, whereas a few plant AMPs from the cyclotide family carry insecticidal functions....

Although the plant lipidome show an enormous level of structural and functional diversity, our knowledge about its genetic control and its connection to whole-plant phenotypes is very limited. Here, we profiled 563 lipid species with UPLC-FT-MS in 289 field-grown inbred lines genotyped with 56,110 SNPs. Genome-wide association study identified 174 associations for 76 lipids explaining up to 31....