Glycosylinositolphosphoceramide (GIPC) and its Degradation Enzymes in Plants

Abstract

The glycosylinositol phosphoceramide (GIPC) is the most abundant lipid class among plant sphingolipids and is one of the main constituents of membrane lipids of plant cells. Although 60 years have passed since the structure of GIPCs was determined, metabolic pathways and physiological roles of the GIPC remain unclear, and it is not used industrially. The difficulty in studying GIPC is that it is water-soluble, which means that the extraction methods commonly used by lipid researchers cannot be applied. In addition, there is no commercially available GIPC standard, making isolation difficult. In this review, I reviewed the isolation methods of GIPCs and the phospholipase D which degrades GIPC at its D position.

graphical abstract