Structural diversity of complex sphingolipids is important for the maintenance of various cellular functions. It is shown that the more the structural variation of complex sphingolipids is limited, the more sensitivity to various environmental stresses tends to increase, which is caused by impaired integrity of plasma membranes and cell walls.

Previously, we found that yeast exhibits a strong growth defect with the combination of a lack of gene involved in structural modification of sphingolipids and repression of the phosphatidylserine synthase gene. Here we found that the double gene mutation causes reactive oxygen species-mediated cell growth defect, which is suppressed by deletion of LEM3 encoding the subunit of phospholipid flippase.

No abstract