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Recent Advances in Ergosterol Biosynthesis and Regulation Mechanisms in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

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Abstract

Ergosterol, an important component of the fungal cell membrane, is not only essential for fungal growth and development but also very important for adaptation to stress in fungi. Ergosterol is also a direct precursor for steroid drugs. The biosynthesis of ergosterol can be divided into three modules: mevalonate, farnesyl pyrophosphate (farnesyl-PP) and ergosterol biosynthesis. The regulation of ergosterol content is mainly achieved by feedback regulation of ergosterol synthase activity through transcription, translation and posttranslational modification. The synthesis of HMG-CoA, catalyzed by HMGR, is a major metabolic check point in ergosterol biosynthesis. Excessive sterols can be subsequently stored in lipid droplets or secreted into the extracellular milieu by esterification or acetylation to avoid toxic effects. As sterols are insoluble, the intracellular transport of ergosterol in cells requires transporters. In recent years, great progress has been made in understanding ergosterol biosynthesis and its regulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, few reviews have focused on these studies, especially the regulation of biosynthesis and intracellular transport. Therefore, this review summarizes recent research progress on the physiological functions, biosynthesis, regulation of biosynthesis and intracellular transportation of ergosterol in S. cerevisiae.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Grant Nos. 31171731 and 31460447), International S&T Cooperation Project of Jiangxi Provincial (Grant No. 20142BDH80003), General Science and Technology Project of Nanchang City (Grant No. 3000035402), “555 Talent Project” of Jiangxi Province, Science and Technology Research Project of Jiangxi Provincial Department of Education (Grant Nos. GJJ160765 and GJJ160794) and Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (20171BAB214004).

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  1. Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Bioprocess Engineering and Co-Innovation Center for In Vitro Diagnosti Reagents and Devices of Jiangxi Province, College of Life Sciences, Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Nanchang, 330013, China

    Zhihong Hu, Bin He, Long Ma, Yunlong Sun, Yali Niu & Bin Zeng

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Hu, Z., He, B., Ma, L. et al. Recent Advances in Ergosterol Biosynthesis and Regulation Mechanisms in Saccharomyces cerevisiae . Indian J Microbiol 57, 270–277 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12088-017-0657-1

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