We studied the effects of root zone temperature (RZT) and nutrient availability on free sterols and phospholipids in the plasma membrane (PM) and on PM-ATPase activity in roots of 1-year-old Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedlings during growth initiation in the spring. Seedlings were grown for 6 weeks in hydroponic cultures with low (0.5 mM N; LN) or high (3 mM N; HN) nutrient availability....

Internal wool lipids (IWLs) are rich in cholesterol, free fatty acids, cholesteryl sulfate, and, mainly, ceramides. The repairing effect of these lipids structured as liposomes was demonstrated by reinforcing the skin-barrier integrity and increasing the water-holding capacity when applied onto the skin. This work was focused on the formation of liposomes with IWLs rich in ceramides, obtained a...

Sterols are essential components of eukaryotic cells whose biosynthesis and function has been studied extensively. Sterols are also recognized as the diagenetic precursors of steranes preserved in sedimentary rocks where they can function as geological proxies for eukaryotic organisms and/or aerobic metabolisms and environments. However, production of these lipids is not restricted to the eukar...

Sterol composition in muscle and viscera tissues of the marine bivalve Megangulus zyonoensis was investigated. Among 13 different sterols identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of their trimethylsilyl ether derivatives, cholesterol was the most abundant sterol, followed by 24-methylenecholesterol, in both muscle and viscera tissues. In this study, the proportion of brassicasterol, i...

Whole body sterol metabolism in insects has seldom been studied. We were able to design an appropriate study at a butterfly farm in Belize. We collected six larvas of butterfly (Morpho peleides), their food (leaves of Pterocarpus bayessii), and their excretions. In addition, six adult butterflies were collected. The sterols of the diet, the larva, and adult butterfly were analyzed by gas-liquid...

Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Bristol, institute of Arable Crops Research, Long Ashton Research Station, Bristol BS18 9AF, UK Plasma membrane vesicles from erg1 I and erg2 sterol-deficient mutants and from wild-type Ustilago maydis sporidia treated with and without inhibitors of sterol 14a-demethylase or sterol A8-A7 isomerase (triadimenol and fenpropimorph fungicides, resp...

Pythium irregulare oomycetes adapts with environmental changes including crude oil concentration by changing the composition of lipids in the cytoplasmic membrane and providing the required characteristics for adaptation in improper and stressful environmental situations. It was found that cultivation of Pythium irregulare LX oomycetes in the nutrient media with different concentrations of crud...