[Kazue Kanehara] A lipid viewpoint on the plant endoplasmic reticulum stress response
POST:
The unfolded protein response (UPR), ER-associated degradation (ERAD) and autophagy orchestrate the ER stress response in Arabidopsis.
To deal with environmental stresses, eukaryotes have evolved sophisticated cellular mechanisms such as the unfolded protein response (UPR), which is conserved among yeasts, mammals, higher plants, and green algae. In this review, Dr. Kazue Kanehara lab highlights the plant UPR from the perspective of membrane phospholipids, focusing on the most abundant ones, phosphatidylcholine (PtdCho) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PtdEtn), in eukaryotic cells. The ratio of PtdCho to PtdEtn and unsaturation of fatty acyl tails in both phospholipids are critical factors for the UPR, but the biosynthetic pathways responsible for PtdCho and PtdEtn are distinct in animals and plants. We discuss the plant UPR in comparison with the system in yeasts and animals in the context of membrane phospholipids.