Cholesterol and its relatives possessing the 1,2-cyclopentanoperhydrophenanthrene ring system (Figure ​(Figure1)1) form the sterolome, which comprises a chemical library of more than 1000 natural products found in all forms of eukaryotes and some prokaryotes that serve a myriad of biological functions.1,2 The structural and stereochemical commonality of these compounds derive in large part from the action of oxidosqualene synthases (formerly cyclases) that generate the parent sterol frame. In their 1985 Nobel lecture, Brown and Goldstein stated that “cholesterol is the most highly decorated small molecule in biology”, a comment supported by the many Nobel prizes awarded to individuals who devoted a large part of their lives to research one or more aspects of the chemistry and chemical biology of sterols, their metabolites, or other isoprenoids.2,3



Figure 1

Common tetracyclic steroid frame containing the 1,2-cyclopentanoperhydrophenanthrene ring skeleton.

Biosynthesis of cholesterol and other sterols.

Aims : Phytosterols are a subgroup of the steroids, as an important class of bioorganic molecules,widespread in plants, animals, marines as well as fungi and have similarity to cholesterol in structure. These compounds have a long history of consumption as food or pharmaceutical products, and generally recognized as safe without undesirable side effects.

The Story of Beta-sitosterol-A Review

Sterols, which are isoprenoid derivatives, are structural components of biological membranes. Special attention is now being given not only to their structure and function, but also to their regulatory roles in plants. Plant sterols have diverse composition; they exist as free sterols, sterol esters with higher fatty acids, sterol glycosides, and acylsterol glycosides, which are absent in animal cells. This diversity of types of phytosterols determines a wide spectrum of functions they play in plant life. Sterols are precursors of a group of plant hormones, the brassinosteroids, which regulate plant growth and development. Furthermore, sterols participate in transmembrane signal transduction by forming lipid microdomains. The predominant sterols in plants are β-sitosterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol. These sterols differ in the presence of a methyl or an ethyl group in the side chain at the 24th carbon atom and are named methylsterols or ethylsterols, respectively. The balance between 24-methylsterols and 24-ethylsterols is specific for individual plant species. The present review focuses on the key stages of plant sterol biosynthesis that determine the ratios between the different types of sterols, and the crosstalk between the sterol and sphingolipid pathways. The main enzymes involved in plant sterol biosynthesis are 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase, C24-sterol methyltransferase, and C22-sterol desaturase. These enzymes are responsible for maintaining the optimal balance between sterols. Regulation of the ratios between the different types of sterols and sterols/sphingolipids can be of crucial importance in the responses of plants to stresses.

Plant sterols: Diversity, biosynthesis, and physiological functions

Seed-size/weight traits, controlled by multiple genes in soybean, play an important role in determining seed yield. However, the molecular mechanisms controlling the seed size and weight in soybean remain unclear. In Arabidopsis, P450/CYP78A gene family has been proved extremely relevant to seed size (such as AtCYP78A5, AtCYP78A6 and AtCYP78A9). We found that a soybean GmCYP78A10 gene underwent artificial selection during soybean breeding. The GmCYP78A10a allele mainly distributed in wild soybean (Glycine soja), but has been eliminated in the cultivars during early stage of soybean breeding, while the GmCYP78A10b allele has been accumulated and become the predominant allele in cultivated soybean (G. max). ANOVA analysis showed that the mean seed weight, seed width and seed thickness of soybean varieties with GmCYP78A10b allele was significantly heavier/bigger than those with GmCYP78A10a allele (P < 0.01). The allele could explain 7.2 % variation in seed weight. The pod number of the soybeans with GmCYP78A10b allele significantly decreased compared to those with GmCYP78A10a allele (P < 0.01, R(2) = 5.8 %), while other agronomic traits including seed weight/plant were not significantly affected by these two alleles. We speculated that during the early stage of soybean breeding, breeders selected big seed carrying GmCYP78A10b allele, but lowered pod number simultaneously. Overall, the selection did not cause the significantly change in soybean seed yield. Our results suggests that the soybean GmCYP78A10 gene may have a similar function to those genes belonging to P450/CYP78A subfamily in Arabidopsis and provides new information for the genetic control of seed size in soybean.

Evolution and association analysis of GmCYP78A10 gene with seed size/weight and pod number in soybean

Revisiting the Great Ordovician Diversification of land plants: Recent data and perspectives

Cloning, functional expression and phylogenetic analysis of plant sterol 24C-methyltransferases involved in sitosterol biosynthesis

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Cloning, functional expression and phylogenetic analysis of plant sterol 24C-methyltransferases involved in sitosterol biosynthesis