AUTHOR=Li Jian , Bi Fang-Cheng , Yin Jian , Wu Jian-Xin , Rong Chan , Wu Jia-Li , Yao Nan 

TITLE=An Arabidopsis neutral ceramidase mutant ncer1 accumulates hydroxyceramides and is sensitive to oxidative stress

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2015

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2015.00460

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2015.00460

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Ceramidases hydrolyze ceramide into sphingosine and fatty acids and, although ceramidases function as key regulators of sphingolipid homeostasis in mammals, their roles in plants remain largely unknown. Here, we characterized the <italic>Arabidopsis thaliana</italic> ceramidase <italic>At</italic>NCER1, a homolog of human neutral ceramidase. <italic>At</italic>NCER1 localizes predominantly on the endoplasmic reticulum. The <italic>ncer1</italic> T-DNA insertion mutants had no visible phenotype, but accumulated hydroxyceramides, and showed increased sensitivity to oxidative stress induced by methyl viologen. Plants over-expressing <italic>AtNCER1</italic> showed increased tolerance to oxidative stress. These data indicate that the <italic>Arabidopsis</italic> neutral ceramidase affects sphingolipid homeostasis and oxidative stress responses.</p>