Glucosylceramide biosynthesis

Chen, M., Markham, J.E. and Cahoon, E.B. (2012) Sphingolipid Delta8 unsaturation is important for glucosylceramide biosynthesis and low-temperature performance in Arabidopsis. Plant J. 69, 769-781. 

Although ceramides are found usually at trace levels in tissues, they play important biologic roles (1). Moreover, they are synthesized as the key intermediates in the biosynthesis of complex sphingolipids, in which glucosylceramide is a key precursor of complex oligoglycolipids (Table 1). 

In the brain, two distinct pathways of glycosphingolipid biosynthesis have been characterized (Fig. 3.12). The first one leads to myelin galactolipids (GalCer, sulfatide, and GM4) (Fig. 3.13), whereas the second one includes all other glycosphingolipids (both neutral and anionic) derived from glucosylceramide (GlcCer) (Fig. 3.14). 

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