Functional Characterization of a Higher Plant Sphingolipid Δ4-Desaturase: Defining the Role of Sphingosine and Sphingosine-1-Phosphate in Arabidopsis

The role of Delta 4-unsaturated sphingolipid long-chain bases such as sphingosine was investigated in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Identification and functional characterization of the sole Arabidopsis ortholog of the sphingolipid Delta 4-desaturase was achieved by heterologous expression in Pichia pastoris. A P. pastoris mutant disrupted in the endogenous sphingolipid Delta 4-desaturase gene was unable to synthesize glucosylceramides. Synthesis of glucosylceramides was restored by the expression of Arabidopsis gene At4g04930, and these sphingolipids were shown to contain Delta 4-unsaturated long-chain bases, confirming that this open reading frame encodes the sphingolipid Delta 4-desaturase. At4g04930 has a very restricted expression pattern, transcripts only being detected in pollen and floral tissues. Arabidopsis insertion mutants disrupted in the sphingolipid Delta 4-desaturase At4g04930 were isolated and found to be phenotypically normal. Sphingolipidomic profiling of a T-DNA insertion mutant indicated the absence of Delta 4-unsaturated sphingolipids in floral tissue, also resulting in the reduced accumulation of glucosylceramides. No difference in the response to drought or water loss was observed between wild-type plants and insertion mutants disrupted in the sphingolipid Delta 4-desaturase At4g04930, nor was any difference observed in stomatal closure after treatment with abscisic acid. No differences in pollen viability between wild-type plants and insertion mutants were detected. Based on these observations, it seems unlikely that Delta 4-unsaturated sphingolipids and their metabolites such as sphingosine-1-phosphate play a significant role in Arabidopsis growth and development. However, Delta 4-unsaturated ceramides may play a previously unrecognized role in the channeling of substrates for the synthesis of glucosylceramides.